


Of Bloodshed, Babies, & Epic LoVe

by ProstheticLoVe



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M, Preseries, Season 1, Smut, Teenage Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-02-21 05:27:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 168,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2456450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProstheticLoVe/pseuds/ProstheticLoVe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in Preseries with elements of Season 1. Veronica and Logan sleep together right after Lilly's funeral and she gets pregnant. Starts day after Lilly's funeral.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on FF and figured I'd post it here too. Story is set in Preseries with elements of Season 1. It starts the day after Lilly's Funeral. Forewarning there is smut in this chapter and some later ones.

Chapter 1 The Beginning

It was raining how appropriate, Veronica thought as she stared out her bedroom window. She sighed quietly wiping away the tears that seemed to never cease after seeing her best friend dead a few days before. The day after Lilly’s funeral and the weather depicts my mood, she thought, as she moved away from the window and went to her bed trying to make the tears stop. 

The whole school had gotten the day after Lilly’s funeral off and Veronica figured she could use it to do her homework and clean her room. Anything to get her mind off of having to think about the fact that one of her best friends was gone. At least she still had Logan, Veronica thought sadly as she went back to organizing her closet. 

It was useless though ever item she pulled out her mind went to what Lilly would say about it, or a time that her and Lilly had hung out and she had worn that outfit. Since they hung out every day her closet was bringing up memories that weren’t necessarily bad, but would make her collapse into a fit of tears. Veronica just wanted her best friend back was that too much to ask?

Staring at a pink cashmere cardigan Lilly had gotten her for birthday this past year Veronica knew she couldn’t continue cleaning. She needed a distraction, so she called the one person that would be feeling as badly as she was. 

Pulling her cell phone out Veronica stared at it for a moment wondering if calling Logan was the best thing to do. They hadn’t said much the day before. They were both too wrapped up in their own misery at the funeral and just wanted the comfort of someone else. Preferably each other. 

She wanted to call Logan, but she didn’t know if he was willing to be around people. He hadn’t been on his best behavior at the funeral. He’d shown up drunk and continuously drank from his flask as Veronica sat by his side and held his hand not knowing what else to do. She wanted him to stop, but he was too lost in anger and grief to listen to anyone. She didn’t blame him, she was angry too and so far her dad hadn’t found anything to pinpoint to whom had done it. Although he had a few leads he just wasn’t ready to say yet.

As much as she wanted Logan to be comforted she wanted the same thing and the only way they would accomplish that was if they were together.   
Veronica went to the third button on her speed dial and just as she was about to press it her phone began to vibrate in her hand, Logan’s name flashing on the screen.   
She smiled slightly and picked it up immediately.

“Hello?” she rasped her voice scratchy from crying.

“Come over.” Logan said his voice sounding just as sad as hers did.

“I’ll be right there.” 

She hurried out of the house leaving a short note telling her parents where she’d gone. She had just turned sixteen and her parents had gotten her a car so she hurried over to the Le Baron and then drove to Logan’s as fast as the speed limit would allow.

Once she’d put the code in to open the gate and get to his house she parked the car where she normally did and then went up to the front door. She rang the doorbell and waited for Logan to come answer it or at least one of the maids. She didn’t have to wait long until Mrs. Echolls opened the door and let her in.

“Veronica.” Lynn Echolls said not looking in the least bit surprised at the small blonde girl’s presence. She gave her a sad smile and then ushered her inside.

“Hi Lynn.” Veronica said softly tucking some of her long blonde hair behind her ear. 

Lynn looked at the girl sadly before engulfing her in a hug that made the blonde girl want to start crying all over again.

“Logan’s in his room.” She said pulling back and gesturing to the stairs. 

Veronica nodded and began to walk towards them a little scared to see what she would find. 

She knocked on Logan’s door softly waiting for it to open. 

“Go away.” She heard his muffled voice beyond the door.

She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open not in the least bit surprised to see Logan sprawled across his bed a pillow on his head and a bottle in his hand. She smiled sadly at the image before going over and pulling the pillow from his head.

He looked up at her his eyes unfocused and glassy. 

“Logan.” She chastised softly.

He gave her a sad smile before knocking the bottle against her knee gently.

“Greetings and Salutations Miss Mars.” He said smirking up at her.

She sighed sadly and took the bottle from his offered hand and surprised them both by putting it to her lips and taking a long sip coughing as she lowered the glass away. 

Logan sat up slowly and leaned against the headboard of the bed watching her as she continued to cough on the strong alcohol. He took the bottle from her lose grip and took his own long drink. He was much more accustomed to the taste so he didn’t cough it up like Veronica, but he did grimace at the burn. Veronica got on the bed and crawled to the spot beside him sitting within inches of each other. Both stared off into opposite directions not sure what to say or whether they wanted to say anything.

“I had another dream.” Logan said softly breaking the silence.

“I did too.” Veronica admitted taking the hand closest to her and lacing her fingers through it.

“Do you think they’ll ever stop?” Logan asked looking over at her.

She stared down at their laced fingers pondering his question. “I’m not sure if I want them to honestly.” She admitted a sad smile gracing her features.

“It was more like a dream memory.” He said squeezing her hand in his and moving closer closing the small distance between the two.

“It was that time we went to the school winter carnival last year. I won you and her a stuffed animal. Duncan I think was sick that day so it was just the three of us…” he trailed off bringing the bottle to his lips to take another drink.

Veronica took it from him when he was done not wanting to let him have to go through the pain alone. God knew she was hurting just as much as he was.

“Do you think it’ll get easier?” she asked after her mini coughing attack once the burning liquid went down.

Logan’s face twisted into an ironic sad smile and he shrugged. “I don’t know if I want it to. When the pain stops…I feel like that means I’ve forgotten her. Forgotten   
everything we did, everything we’ve gone through.” He admitted.

Veronica sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’ll be here to remind you, you know. I’m not leaving you, Logan. We’ve gone through our fair share of pain lately, but you’ve still got me. You’ll always have me.” She whispered pain lacing her tone. 

She had thought her break up with Duncan was bad, but it was nothing compared to the past few days of life without Lilly. Her heart physically ached. Every time she picked up the phone to call Lilly to tell her something, she realized her best friend was gone. She wasn’t coming back and that knowledge made her entire body hurt all over again.

“Thanks for being here, Ronnie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” he said kissing the top of her head and taking another sip before handing it to her.

“I’ll always help you, Logan. We aren’t best friends for no reason.” She said trying to lighten the mood, but her tone wasn’t behind it and neither of them were in a joking mood.

He looked down at her his mind becoming even fuzzier than before. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead decided against it preferring the silence with her since it comforted him just to know that she was close by. She was his best friend, they could sit in silence and be ok and now that Lilly was gone he’d need her a lot more. 

He handed her the bottle knowing that currently besides each other they needed to numb themselves to what had happened. It was the only thing he could think of to make them feel better, besides Ronnie who always made him feel warm and safe.

“You know when I found out I thought you were joking.” He said breaking the silence.

She removed her head and he found himself feeling cold where her warmth had been.

“Why would I joke about that?” she asked incredulously.

He shrugged handing her the bottle. “Maybe she wanted you to say it after the whole Yolanda thing.” He said watching her drink.

“Logan, forget about the whole Yolanda thing. Lilly, I think was mad about it for, like a day.” She said quietly wanting to bring him some solace about it. In the days   
following Lilly’s departure the Fab Four had all been fighting. Duncan refused to talk to Veronica. Veronica couldn’t pry out why from Lilly and Lilly was doing everything in her power to make Logan miserable for kissing another girl. 

“Then why wouldn’t she talk to me?” he asked anger lacing his tone. In the wake of the tragedy he had forgotten to be angry with Veronica. Sure he blamed her, if 

Veronica hadn’t told Lilly then Lilly and him would be together and none of this would be happening. He could’ve protected Lilly. But at the current time he wasn’t willing to be angry with Veronica because Veronica knew exactly what he was going through. Since she was going through the same thing. Granted he could call 

Duncan, but Duncan had been weird ever since a few weeks ago when he’d broken up with Veronica.

“Because she’s Lilly. “ she said tiredly feeling the ache of hearing her best friend’s name. A name she’d rarely use from now on because of the pain it brought.

“Is your dad going to catch the killer?” Logan asked making her look at him square in the eye.

She nodded vigorously. “And I’m going to help. Believe me Logan who ever did this isn’t getting away with it. They need to rot.” She said passionately. She took another sip of the bottle and passed it to him. Her head was feeling light and it didn’t taste as bad as it had in the beginning.

Logan laughed sardonically and looked at her. “Veronica this is serious. I know you’re really good at figuring things out and catching people in the act. You’re really smart, but this, this is real life. This is Lilly’s murderer.” He said staring at her like she was insane for even contemplating helping her dad.

She shook her head quickly and she felt the effects as she stopped. She smiled softly enjoying the lightheaded carefree feeling that was taking over her mind.

“I don’t want to talk about this now. Let’s talk about something else. Why did Duncan break up with me?” she demanded to know poking Logan in the arm.

He smirked slightly and poked her back. “I don’t want to talk about that either. Let’s talk about…you.” he said his deep brown eyes falling on her.

“No! Let’s talk about you!” she said taking the bottle from his hand and gulping more of it down.

He chuckled and grabbed it back taking an even longer sip. 

“We could play a game.” She suggested her words slurring ever so slightly.

She sat up and moved to sit across from him. He watched as she slid across the mattress and he smiled at how serene and innocent she looked for the first time since tragedy had struck. Her long hair cascaded down her back and the pink blouse and jean skirt she was wearing hugged her svelte body. Her face was void of make up and her eyes were filled with wonder and innocence he’d long since thought was dead. He wondered not for the first time what would’ve happened if he’d gotten to her before Duncan. 

Would she be like everything else he touched, completely destroyed? He hoped not he liked Veronica’s innocence, her pretty pink attire, and the sweetness that she carried in her demeanor. He’d always liked Veronica, always wondered what it would be like to be with her, but he’d never gotten the chance and he never would. 

“What are you looking at?” she asked self consciously tucking some hair behind her ear.

He shook his head a soft smile playing on his lips. “I’m just thinking.” He mused.

“About what?” she asked reaching forward to grab the bottle. Her legs were tucked gently underneath her as she sat across from him. He wanted to reach out and touch her. It wouldn’t be the first time he wanted to touch Veronica. He always wanted to touch her ever since he’d seen her in a bathing suit at the tender age of   
twelve, but Lilly was much easier to touch. 

Lilly and her whirlwind of activity just had to stand in front of him and she was attainable. Veronica on the other hand wasn’t as easy. She was pure and untouched even years later and he knew if he had gotten to her first she’d be as tainted as the rest of them were. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to see what it was like. He was always curious about Veronica.

“You.” he admitted holding his hand out for the bottle. He could tell she was on her way to drunk. She was pretty much a lightweight either from being so small or from the fact she never drank whatever it was he could always tell when she was on her way to drunk. He wondered if he should tell her to stop, but even if he did she wouldn’t. 

“What about me?” she asked.

“Just…things.” He mumbled passing the bottle back.

She smiled slightly at him and took the bottle and raising it to her lips. 

“Say something to make me laugh.” She said as she moved the bottle from her mouth.

“What?” he asked dazed. He’d been concentrating on her mouth. The pink plump lips he thought about kissing even when he was with Lilly. Even when things had been good with Lilly he still thought about it.

“Say something to make me laugh. I’m tired of crying.” She said quietly handing him the bottle back.

“Do you feel like crying?” he asked without an ounce of judgment. 

She shook her head, “No I just kinda feel…numb. I feel numb.” She said with a slight nod of her head.

“That’s the alcohol.”

“I still want to laugh. I miss laughing. The best times with her had been when we laughed and were acting ridiculous.” She whispered moving back across his bed and towards the headboard to lay her head on his pillow. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. 

“Alright, what about the time we went to the beach and Duncan and I kept grabbing you and her legs underwater. Finally you got so angry you kneed what you thought was me in the dick, but it turned out to be Duncan. I had been trying to scare Lilly.” He mused smiling at the memory.

“Or the time Duncan tried to skateboard and Lilly tripped him with a branch.” She added her own smile returning to her face.

“Or the time I made you laugh so hard you spit milk into your jell-o and Mrs. Navarro made you eat it anyway because there are starving kids all over the world.”

“Or when Lilly caught Duncan singing while going to the bathroom.”

They both grinned at each other and laughed at the memory. 

“What about the time I kissed you at Lilly’s birthday party.” He said quietly looking down at her. Her blue eyes met his remembering the night fondly.

“My first kiss.” She said with a soft smile. 

“Why did you do that? I mean I know we were playing Seven Minutes in Heaven, but…why?” she asked the alcohol giving her confidence.

He shrugged and tilted the bottle back. “I thought it was a good idea at the time.” he admitted.

“I always thought it was to make Lilly jealous. She was always playing with you I thought it was to win her over once and for all.” She confessed her eyes burning into his.

He shook his head slowly. “Not at all. I just…you looked so pretty in that pink flowery dress and I just wanted to be your first. I wanted to see what it would be like. I know you liked Duncan at the time and that Lilly had been dragging me around for months at that point, but you looked beautiful and I wanted to.” He said his own alcoholic fuzzy brain speaking on things he’d rather forget. He looked back down at her and saw her blushing a fiery pink.

“It was a good kiss.” She whispered her blush turning even redder.

He grinned and nodded drinking some more of the alcohol before offering her the remaining amount.

“I didn’t like Duncan at the time.” she said after finishing the bottle.

“What?” he asked with a laugh staring at her as if she had five heads.

She smiled and the red in her cheeks was back as she stared out the window. “I didn’t like Duncan.” She said again.

“But…Lilly said you two were made for each other.” Logan said dumbly.

“Yeah because Lilly wanted us to be sisters.” Veronica said with a slight laugh.

Logan stared at her trying to comprehend exactly what he had just heard. “So you didn’t like Duncan?” he asked his brain working slower than normal because of the alcohol.

She laughed and shook her head. “Not at all.” She continued to laugh whether it was because of the dumbstruck expression on Logan’s face or because she was very drunk it was unclear, but she couldn’t stop. The giggles poured out of her mouth as Logan sat beside her and then suddenly without thinking he leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.

She responded instantly not one thought of stopping even crossed her mind. Instead all she could think of was closer. She needed him closer. She got onto her knees and moved closer to him. He pulled her body on top of him and let his hands wander down the length of her body. When his hands crawled up her bare back she shivered in delight and prodded the seam of his lips for entrance. He allowed her invitation and her tongue began to explore the cavern of his mouth. She heard the distant sound of moaning, but instead of wanting to stop she wanted to go forward. She didn’t notice when her pink blouse and bra was discarded nor Logan’s t-shirt. Their minds were on auto-pilot as their hands touched each other’s bodies. All either of them could think of was more, more, more. They needed more of each other. 

Veronica’s shaking hands went for the button on her jeans and pulled them down her slim legs. Logan watched her with hungry eyes and leaned down to press a kiss to her lips and then he began to make his way down her body. The kisses he left in his wake were hot and wet and left Veronica shivering in need. 

She watched as he undid the belt on his pants and slid his own jeans and boxers off. Their eyes met both mirroring the lust and desire for the other. Logan stopped for a moment as his eyes racked her form and he memorized the tussled blonde hair and the desire pouring from Veronica’s petite body. His eyes finally landed on hers again and he moved forward. He positioned himself between her legs and he tentatively removed the last garment between them.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked quietly.

She nodded, “Completely sure.” She whispered before reaching up and bringing his head down to hers. As their lips worked in unison Logan moved his hand to the apex of her thighs. One digit gently circled the entrance of her heat and then ever so slowly pushed into her. 

Veronica’s back arched at the new sensation and she pulled Logan almost on top of her. His finger began to move in and out of her making her wetter than she’d ever been in her life. When he felt she was ready he added a second finger and continued his ministrations. He pressed his thumb down on her sensitive button and almost immediately he felt the tell-tale signs of her orgasm coming on. She let out a low groan into his mouth and Logan knew she was ready. 

He positioned himself at her entrance and began to push himself inside of her. He watched her waiting to see her reaction. At one pointed he had to pull out from the pain on her face. He pushed himself into her inch by inch waiting to see the pain again, but either it wasn’t there or she hide it well because she didn’t flinch again instead keeping her eyes focused solely on Logan. 

Once he was all the way in he began to move slowly at first and then he sped up. His head dropped to the crock of her neck and he sucked gently at the skin there. He heard her murmur and moan in his ear, but all he could concentrate on was Veronica and her warmth. All he knew was Veronica. All he wanted for the rest of his existence was Veronica. He had never felt like this before, but now with Veronica it was like he was the one losing his virginity. 

He continued his pace until he reached down and began to massage her clit. She arched her back and brought his head down so she could kiss him. He felt her inner muscles begin to contort around his length and he sped up seeking his own release. He let out a low noise as she pulled him closer. He felt the pleasurable feeling overcome him and then he was flying high with her. His seed shot into her and she leaned up to kiss him before he rolled off her and they fell asleep curled around each other. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica awoke with the distinct impression that people were banging on the inside of her head. She cracked open an eye and groaned turning over and away from the open sunny windows towards something soft beside her. She fully opened both eyes and them sat up quickly staring down at the face of Logan with shock. She wasn’t shocked that they were sleeping in the same bed, they did that all the time. She was shocked that she was naked sleeping in the same bed as him.

Slowly as she looked down at him trying to make sense of last night it all came flooding back. Going to his house, drinking from the now empty bottle on the floor, then finally kissing followed by her loss of virginity. 

Veronica covered her mouth a sick feeling rising up into her stomach and threatening to make her vomit everywhere. As quietly as possible she got out of the bed and began to put her clothes on as quickly as possible not wanting to wake the sleeping Logan. 

She felt incredibly guilty about leaving him before he woke up, but her dad was going to have her head if he knew what she had done. As a matter of fact she was going to have her own head because of what she had just done. She had only been broken up with Duncan for three weeks and Lilly had died not even a week ago and here she was sleeping with her dead best friends ex-boyfriend. 

She felt sick from guilt and the image of Logan laying there looking so peaceful made her feel even worse. She had to get out of there, she had to go home and forget that this ever happened. She gathered the rest of her stuff and then snuck out of the room feeling hot tears running down her face. 

She prayed no one saw her sneaking out at the ass crack of dawn and when she made it out of the house and into her car safely she let the tears flow as she drove home. Once she got out of Logan’s neighborhood she pulled over and began to cry, not because she slept with Logan, but because of everything that had happened in her life recently. She had lost her boyfriend, her best friend, and now Logan would probably never speak to her again because of what they did. 

Half of her wished she’d never went over there and they hadn’t slept together, but on the other hand the entire experience had been gentle and heartbreaking. It was the best first time sex she’d ever expect to have and despite the fact that Logan was her best friend and her friend’s ex she was glad it was with him. Logan was her world, without him she didn’t know what she’d do and now she messed everything up. 

Once she stopped crying Veronica pulled back onto the road and continued to drive home vowing to call him later and invite him over to talk about what happened. 

After all life couldn’t get any worse, right?


	2. The World

Chapter 2 The World 

Veronica didn’t see Logan for the rest of the week. She had called him almost a dozen times, but he either was avoiding her or just plain didn’t want to deal with what had happened. She understood it completely since she was feeling just as guilty as he probably was, but she still want to talk about it. Clear the air and all that jazz. 

As a matter of fact for the rest of the week Veronica hadn’t really seen anyone. Neither Duncan nor Logan were at school and she had to sit with the 09ers and feel like shit since none of them were really talking to her. She only had gotten past the velvet ropes because of Duncan and Lilly anyway. If they weren’t there to defend her she might as well join the masses and the masses were looking pretty good from where she stood since at least they would talk to her.

The 09ers in general didn’t really like her and only tolerated her because of who she knew. Now that they weren’t around she wasn’t exactly as warmly accepted as she would be if Lilly were there. 

By Friday when she saw between Madison Sinclair and Casey Grant and they ignored her throughout lunch she realized she didn’t belong there anymore. It had only taken her two days to come to this conclusion, but she didn’t want to move. Moving signified that everything was changing and like most Veronica didn’t like change and for the most part ignored it until she had to deal with it.

She wondered for the majority of the rest of that Friday where she would go if she couldn’t be with the 09ers. She didn’t really talk to anyone who wasn’t on the Pep Squad or at the very least in her AP and Honors classes. She really needed to get more friends, she thought miserably as she drove home that Friday or at the very least find somewhere new to sit since Duncan wasn’t her boyfriend anymore and Lilly was…not around.

When she got home she tried to call Logan, but like it had been doing since they had slept together her call went straight to voicemail. So she decided to get a head start on her homework since neither her mother nor her father were home. Her father she knew was at work, but her mother…God only knew.

It was around four when the front door opened and her dad came in looking haggard.

“Veronica.” He said giving her an exhausted smile.

“Dad.” She said giving him a soft smile.

“How was school?” he asked going to the fridge and getting a water.

She shrugged. “It was schooly.” She said looking down at the math she was working on.

Keith nodded and looked down at the water bottle in his hand. “I have to talk to you.” he said taking a deep breath.

“What’s up?” she asked setting down her pencil.

Keith looked around the living room before letting his eyes settle back on Veronica. “Where’s your mother?” he asked taking notice of his wife’s absence.

Veronica shrugged. “She wasn’t here when I got home.” She said giving him a look that they both knew exactly where she was. Lianne was only ever at the bar these days.

Keith nodded and sat in the chair across from her. He rubbed his balding head anxiously before his gaze came to rest back on Veronica. “It’s…uh…it’s about the murder.” He said.

Veronica didn’t have to ask which murder since he had only been working on one and that was around the clock. She didn’t resent him for it. She wanted to know who had killed her best friend as much as anyone. It was one of two things that kept her up at night, the second being Logan. 

Veronica anxiously tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned closer.

“Did you find something?” she asked.

Keith looked away and let out a tired sigh. “I think I know who did it and it’s not going to be pretty.” He warned.

“Who did it? What happened? And why are you telling me this?” she asked narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Generally she had to snoop in his cases to find out what she wanted to know. 

For the most part Veronica was a good girl. She did her homework, only got drunk on occasion, and told her parents nearly everything. But then again she was also the daughter of a Sheriff and her curiosity generally got the better of her. She knew her way around the Sheriff’s office and a computer, which really helped since she was always intrigued by the knowledge she discovered. She was an observer taking in her surroundings and reading people. 

She also had a bad habit of getting into her father’s cases. Something that had come up more than a time or two. She was smart everyone knew that, but her father generally wanted to keep her out of the loop whether for her own safety or something else she wasn’t aware of. Neither the less this was the first time Keith was filling his daughter in on a case, but then again this wasn’t just any case, but the case of the century. This was the first case that she one hundred and ten percent cared about. This was the case of her best friend’s murder. 

“Jake Kane.” Keith blurted out ignoring her other questions.

Veronica sat back in her chair and blinked rapidly trying to make sense of what her dad was saying.

“But that’s Lilly’s dad.” She said dumbfounded.

Keith nodded watching his daughter’s reaction.

“But…but Mr. Kane wouldn’t do that.” she said her voice sounding far away even to her own ears.

“I’m telling you this because I want you to know, Veronica. There might be…some backlash on this and I want you to be…prepared.” Keith said his voice detached and business like. 

Veronica nodded slowly taking the information in. “Why do you think it’s Mr. Kane?” she whispered.

Keith looked away debating what he should and shouldn’t tell her. “It’s the evidence. It’s really against them. They’re hiding something, Veronica I can feel it.” He paused gathering his thoughts before he went on. “I know Duncan was your boyfriend and you’ve been going through some hard times with everything going on. I want to tell you it’s going to get better, but…once I go public with this…I understand if you want to…” he trailed off not able to finish his sentence. He wanted to tell her everything would be ok, but he didn’t want to lie to her. Going up against the richest and most powerful man in town were going to produce repercussions. Probably really bad repercussions, ones that could change them forever.

“I just want you to be prepared.” Keith said finally.

Veronica nodded. “I’ll stand by you, dad. I’m not going anywhere and if I have to prepare for war. Then so be it.” She said giving him a loving smile. Then she stood up and hugged him closing her eyes and wishing that he could in fact make everything go away and her previously perfect sixteen year old girl existence could return.

“Good, honey, I just wanted to forewarn you.” Keith said as they broke apart.

Veronica smiled and opened her mouth to respond with a witty comeback when the door slammed open and Lianne Mars came in looking worse for wear.

“Lianne.” Keith said taking in the appearance of his disheveled looking wife. 

Lianne looked at the both of them Keith’s arms wrapped around Veronica and the concerned look on her face.

“What’s going on?” Lianne slurred looking at Veronica then Keith. Her eyes unfocused.

Keith turned to Veronica and gave her a comforting smile. “Honey why don’t you finish your homework in your room. I need to talk to your mother.” 

Veronica looked at him for a moment then back at her mother who was staring at her with a glossy expression. Veronica nodded reluctantly then gathered her things and headed for her room making sure to keep it partially open so she could hear their discussion. Although after the screaming began she wished she’d just closed it fully. 

When Lianne stormed out Veronica decided to call Logan again at least to hear his voice. She got that with his inspiration voicemail and finally after days of calling she left a message for him to call her. She wanted to let him know at least that her dad was going to go after Jake Kane.

The weekend news had been full of interviews about the Lilly Kane murder and how Jake Kane was being accused of doing it. Vicious things were being said about the bungling Sheriff of Neptune and after awhile Veronica couldn’t listen anymore. She could see her world falling apart before her very eyes and she felt incredibly alone. 

She called Logan a few other times not to talk about their one night together, but about the case and how they were both feeling. He still wouldn’t pick up and finally she decided to stop calling. She figured she’d see him Monday anyway. 

On Monday morning she braced herself for people talking more about Lilly’s case and her dad’s accusations. She figured her peers would be happy that her dad was doing his job, but when she got to school and saw her locker she saw that she was wrong. In big sharp black letters ‘Traitor’ was written across her locker.   
She frowned and looked around as if she was looking for a perpetrator. When she saw Logan, Dick, Casey, and a few of the other guys in the 09er pack laughing she figured it was them. She looked at them for a moment before holding her head high and walking over a determined look on her face.

“Logan, can I talk to you?” she asked ignoring everyone else and focusing on Logan, the last hope she really had for comfort at this point everyone else was gone. Except her dad. She’d always have her dad.

Logan smirked and crossed his arms over his chest looking her up and down. “What about, Mars?” he asked glancing at some of the guys who were cackling next to him. 

She tried to not look taken aback by his use of her last name. He never used her last name. He called her ‘Ronnie’ and sometimes ‘Veronica’ never ‘Mars.’ She looked down to cover her hurt and then back up clearing her throat anxiously and standing tall. 

“It’s private.” She said looking into his eyes that had previously held so much warmth for her.

“Sorry I don’t talk to traitors.” He spat before turning away from her and beginning to talk to Dick.

“I’m not a traitor. You know that.” she said grabbing his arm and trying to get him to turn back to her so they could talk.

He yanked his arm away from her and glared down at her. Anger like she’d seen directed at other people finally directed at her. 

“Don’t touch me. I don’t know how you can even live with yourself. You’re dad should be out there looking for Lilly’s murderer not accusing the people she loved and who loved her as being her killer! That’s my girlfriend. Your friend. Duncan’s sister. You’re dad is destroying what’s left of the Kane family. What is wrong with you? How could you think any of the people she loved killing her? How sick and twisted are you?” he said angrily pushing past her and getting ready to walk down the hallway and away from her.

“Logan.” She said softly watching as he stopped and turned around sending her a dark smirk.

“I’m an 09er, Mars remember that you’re only trash.” He called back loudly making the students in the hall laugh at her expense.

Veronica felt her entire world had finally crashed down around her and she ran straight to the bathroom to puke the last of her former life up.


	3. The Change

Chapter 3 The Change

**The day after Lilly’s Funeral**

_Logan kept his eyes closed as he felt the weight of Veronica’s body leave the bed. When the door had shut he let his hand reach out to the side of the bed she had slept on touching the emptiness she left. Slowly he opened his eyes and stared at the white pillow she had laid on the ache in his heart increasing in her absence. He let out a shaky breath as he gazed at the spot and thought about what had occurred the night before._

_Her skin felt like silk beneath his fingers. Her lips were soft and full and her kisses made him feel so warm and alive. They even had cuddled after sex, something he’d never done with anyone not even Lilly since she was more a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am girl. He had never had sex with anyone the way he and Veronica had last night._

_The sex they had wasn’t even constituted as that since it was more like making love. Although Logan knew he didn’t love her like that. At least that’s what he told himself again and again. It was true he loved her like a friend, but that was it. That could only ever be it. This was Veronica he had slept with, his best friend. The partner in crime he never had with Duncan and never fully had with Lilly. Veronica was everything to him. She was…perfect._

_Logan cringed as that thought hit him full blast. The guilt he felt for thinking that hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut. He rolled onto his back not wanting to look at where she lay anymore because of the mass amount of guilt he felt at first sleeping with Lilly’s best friend and Duncan’s ex and then at the fact he took her virginity. He knew they weren’t in their right minds. They were drunk, grieving, and angry. He had taken advantage of that and if that wasn’t bad enough Lilly hadn’t even been in the ground a full forty-eight hours before he slept with her best friend._

_The guilt rolled around in his stomach for what he had done and he reached over on his bedside table for his cell to call Veronica and apologize when he realized he didn’t know how she felt about the situation. She had snuck out as early as possible. If he didn’t notice the absence of her warm petite body pressed against his he wouldn’t have woken up at all. He had pretended to be asleep because he wasn’t sure what to say to her. He knew she was trying to leave without being caught. He figured he’d talk to her later about the situation, but now that later had occurred…well he still didn’t know what to say._

_What did you say to a girl after taking her virginity? He’d never had sex with a virgin before. He never had sex with his best friend before either so how did you make that right? What did he say to her to not hurt both of them? How was he supposed to say to fix this?_

_When no answers came to his unspoken questions he let his hand drop away from the cell phone and he turned onto his stomach and tried to go back to sleep willing away the guilty pain within him._

_He closed his eyes and wished that everything would go back to how it had been at Homecoming, but then again whom was he really kidding. He had thought about having sex with Veronica for a long time, only late at night when he couldn’t sleep and Lilly and him were on a break of course. Then when Veronica and Duncan had broken up…well that made the thoughts occur more and in higher volume. He would be lying if he said he’d never wanted to see what it would be like, how she’d feel and God did she feel wonderful. Amazing. So incredible._

_He wanted to do it again, but then he thought about Lilly and everything else that had happened in the last week._

_Before Lilly had died they had been fighting. Veronica had told her about kissing Yolanda and then they were broken up again. He had been angry at Veronica until Lilly had died because once that had happened all he wanted was Veronica and the comfort he knew she’d offer._

_They were both hurting, their night together was a mistake and now everything was ruined. She’d never talk to him again for that he was sure. He was filled with guilt at what he’d done to both the memory of Lilly and taking Veronica’s virginity. The worst part about all of this was he wouldn’t mind doing it again. Which made him even more of a monster than he already saw himself as._

_Veronica deserved better than him. She deserved someone like Duncan. Someone who would treat her right, who didn’t drink at every opportunity, and whom didn’t have a fucked up family. She deserved someone who’d be there for her and who wasn’t as fucked up as he was. As he thought that he saw his phone begin to vibrate Veronica’s name flashing on the screen. Worst case scenarios began to filter through his head of her telling him she never wanted to speak to him again, that he was a terrible person for taking advantage of her, and how could he when Lilly had just died. The guilt consumed him so with a wince at what he was about to do he rolled over to ignore the phone call. He was not ready in the slightest to talk to her and ruin one of the greatest friendships he had. Instead he’d just avoid her until he was ready to talk. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only one._

_He grabbed the pillow she had slept with and pressed it against his body. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. But the only thing he saw when he tried to sleep was her lovely face telling him the whole thing was a mistake._

 

* * *

 

**The Week of Thanksgiving**

Veronica had never hated school so much. She was glad she was going to have five days off to recover from the constant mocking, vandalizing, glares, and vicious words that had been thrown at her since her father had accused Jake Kane of killing Lilly. Her dad had warned her, prepare for battle she thought as she fished her clothes out of the toilet in the locker room. She was just glad she had her Pep Squad uniform to change into. Although walking around in her uniform was less than ideal she had to since she had a test that afternoon and in her English class they were getting their midterm project assignments. The project was legendary and a huge percentage of their final English grade. Veronica just hoped she got someone who wasn’t part of the torture gang that had been siced on her from October till now. Her ex-best friend and Neptune’s resident obligatory psychotic jackass Logan Echolls the leader of the heard.

Sadly most of the 09ers were in her English class so she wasn’t feeling particularly lucky. If the indication of her soaked clothes demonstrated her luck she could fully say with a one hundred percent answer that her luck was as dismal as well ever.

I can’t even come up with a witty quip, that’s how depressed I am, Veronica thought miserably.

With a heavy heart she changed into her pep squad uniform noting that she should probably lay off the ice-cream since it was feeling a little tight. Then she gathered her things and headed to the dreaded English class to get her project assignment. She heard people snigger as she walked down the halls her Pep Squad uniform earning her more than a few catcalls and derogatory remarks. When she got to English it wasn’t any better as most of the 09ers said lewd things to her.

Instead she ignored them holding her head up high and when the words got to her throwing a snippy comeback at them to get them to shut the hell up. Finally the bell rang and the teacher came into the class. She gave Veronica an odd look, but then started class without much other hesitation. Veronica let out a tense breath she’d been holding unknowingly.

“Alright as most of you know I require a midterm project that’s worth twenty percent of your grade. I chose the partners, you guys can chose the book. Here are the guidelines. Remember you must do a visual project, present it in a teaching manner to the class, and write a short 5-7 page paper on it. It’s due in January a week after winter break.” The teacher said handing out the guidelines to each row.

Then she went back to the front of the class and picked up a piece of paper and a hat.

“I’ll call your partners out and then one of you will come up and chose from the hat, which book you’ll read.” she added jiggling the hat for good measure.

“I thought we got to chose them.” Dick complained loudly.

“You do, Mr. Casablancas. Out of a hat.” She said dryly before putting her spectacles on and beginning to read down the list. Veronica prayed that she got the quiet girl with blue streaks in her hair, or even—

“Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars. Cindy Mac—“

“Excuse me.” Logan interrupted waving his hand around to get the teacher’s attention.

She sighed and put down her spectacles. “Yes Mr. Echolls?”

“I can’t work with Mars.” He said not even bothering to look in her direction.

“Too bad. No changing partners.” She said putting her spectacles back on and resuming the list.

Veronica glanced over at Logan watching as he slumped in his seat and various members of the 09ers made lewd remarks to him.

She sighed and looked down at her notebook. So much for praying, she thought dryly as the teacher finished the list and then told them to get with their partner.

Veronica looked over at Logan and waited for him to come to her since she wasn’t going into the lion’s den with him surrounded by his friends. Instead of getting up Logan stared back at her waiting for her to get up to come to him. When it was clear neither of them would move the teacher came over to Veronica and gave her a stern look.

“Be the responsible one, Veronica.” She said giving her a sympathetic look before nodding over at Logan.

Veronica sighed and gathered her things before plopping herself in the empty seat beside Logan her heart racing a thousand miles a minute. She didn’t know how this was going to go, they hadn’t really talked for over a month, the day after Lilly’s funeral or doomsday-at-Casa-Echolls as it was known in her head. The only things they had said to each other were scathing remarks that left them both scarred and hurt. Nothing it seemed was off limits to either of them and now they were forced into being cordial and working on a project together.

“So…” Veronica said trailing off.

“I’ll pick.” Logan said shortly as the teacher called each group up one at a time to get their assignment.

“Just don’t get Romeo and Juliet.” She said woodenly looking down into her notebook and doodling in the margins.

“Why not? Filled with too much dramatic irony?” he said rolling his eyes.

Veronica smirked to herself. “It was Lilly’s favorite.” She said quietly. “As her boyfriend shouldn’t you know that?” she snapped back tired of ignoring all of the torture she received. She would fight back. She wasn’t helpless.

Logan gave her a dark smile. “Lilly only read—“

“Logan! Veronica! Come pick.” The teacher snapped waving the hat.

Logan sauntered over to the hat and reached in. After a few minutes he took out a piece of paper and looked at the name.

He smirked, “Macbeth.” He said proudly.

Veronica smiled relief flooding through her. Doing a romantic play with Logan was almost as bad as doing Lilly’s favorite play. At least now they got to do a nice bloodshed filled one.

“So how do you wanna do this?” Veronica asked as he came back to his seat and the teacher gave them the rest of the period to discuss their project.

Logan shrugged uninterested in speaking to her.

“Logan I know you don’t care about your grades, but I do.” She said feeling exasperated with him.

Logan looked at her and then let his eyes scan her body. “You know you are looking particularly perky in that uniform maybe you can just work your magic on your grades. Everyone knows how little morals you actually have.” He said suggestively.

Veronica looked away from him not able to take the words coming out of his mouth. She still couldn’t get over that this was Logan saying these terrible things to her. They used to be friends.

“How about you just get your dad to pay for your grades. It’s not like your going to do anything of actual meaning with your life.” She said.

Logan smirked, “tough words for such a daddy’s girl.”

“I’d stop right there Logan, unless you want to see how much I’ve actually learned from being a daddy’s girl.” She snapped the walls she had been building around herself for a month coming up in full force.

She wouldn’t let Logan know his words affected her. She wouldn’t let anyone know she cried herself to sleep because of what he said. She had prepared for battle and she had a fortress around herself. She wouldn’t let anyone see her weaknesses.

Logan’s eyes narrowed at her and she gave him a peppy smile that had so often been on her face before Lilly died. Then she tapped her pencil on the notebook in front of him.

“How about I do the paper since I don’t trust you and you can do the visual.” She said.

“What about the teaching stuff?” he asked begrudgingly.

“I’ll do that too. I can do it over break.” She said.

“Good since I’m going to Aspen while your stuck here on the wrong side of the tracks.” Logan said putting his hands behind his head and giving her a smug look.

“Fantastic. Try to get in a ski accident while you’re there.” She said giving him a perky grin before gathering her thing up and leaving the room as the bell rang.

Logan watched her go an unreadable look on his face.

* * *

 

Veronica was happy to be home after another disastrous day at school. She was tired, aching, and she had been feeling sick for the past few days. She thought she was coming down with the flu since she wasn’t really able to keep anything down and she seemed to smell everything. It was strange, but a lot of kids were out with the stomach flu so she didn’t think too much about it. She couldn’t really afford the absences anyway.

She went straight to the fridge when she got home unsurprised to find no food. With a sigh she took a bottled water and then picked her bag back up before going into her room.

When she saw who was in there she let out a shriek seeing her mother passed out in her bed.

“Mom.” Veronica said shaking her awake.

Lianne let out a groan and opened her eyes. “Veronica.” She slurred.

Veronica sighed and helped her mom sit up. “Let me call dad.” She said.

Lianne shook her head drunkenly. “Don’t bother.” She said.

Veronica frowned, “why? What happened?”

Lianne gave her a sad smile and then pressed a sloppy kiss to her forehead. “You’ll find out soon.” She said before getting up and stumbling into her own room.

Veronica watched her go before sitting on her bed not feeling in the slightest in a Turkey break mood. She just hoped her mother got it together enough so they could have dinner for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving behind Christmas was her favorite holiday, but with her mother so…sick she wasn’t sure how she’d enjoy any of it.

Later that night when her dad got home she could hear them fighting through the walls, about Jake Kane no less. Veronica lay in bed trying to drown them out with a mixed CD Lilly had made her, but that only made her cry.

When she awoke the next morning she found a departure note from her mother and a jewelry box on the table waiting for her.

Thanksgiving was spent with her dad eating Chinese and watching a football game, it became her least favorite holiday.


	4. The Realization

Chapter 4 The Realization

The Monday after Thanksgiving Veronica woke up and felt worse than ever. Her body hurt, her stomach was twisted in knots, and she was feeling more tired than she did when she had gone to bed last night. She lay in bed for a few minutes weighing the options of going to school feeling like this or staying home. She technically couldn’t afford the absence, but she was feeling so ill she wasn’t sure how she was going to hold up in school, especially if Logan and his gang of miscreants were going to harass her.

As she lay in bed there was a soft knock on her door and Veronica knew her dad was coming to see why she was still in bed at 7:45 when she should be getting ready for school.

“Veronica?” Keith called through the door. When he heard a soft ‘come in’ he pushed it open and found his only daughter curled up in a ball looking sickly.

He walked over to her and laid a gentle hand on her forehead.

“What’s going on, honey?” he asked looking down at her worriedly.

“I feel icky.” She groaned out. She could smell the eggs he made for breakfast and they were making her stomach turn even more. She frowned wondering when the smell of eggs made her sick.

“Do you want to go to school today?” Keith asked.

Veronica stared up at him debating the question. “Honestly not really, but to maintain my stellar attendance record and getting my schoolwork done, maybe…” she said trailing off.

Keith smiled down at his overachieving daughter and patted her gently on the head. “How about you make an appointment with the doctor and stay home today? I’m sure they’ll be able to squeeze you in.” he said taking her cell off her bedside table and handing it to her.

Veronica nodded reluctantly and took her phone from his hands.

“I’m going to go in to work, call me if you need me ok?” Keith said kissing her briefly on the forehead and then getting off the bed.

Veronica gave him a soft smile. “Careful dad you don’t want to catch whatever I have.” She said half jokingly and half serious.

Keith smiled down at her. “I’ll take my chances. Now I’ll call the school, you go back to sleep and rest, but don’t forget to call the doctor.”

Veronica nodded and grabbed her computer to look up the doctor’s phone number before dialing. She heard her father leave the house as she made her appointment—Wednesday morning—and then when she was finished she put her phone back on the bedside table and got ready to close her computer when she decided to ‘Google’ her symptoms.

She typed in ‘fatigue, stomach sickness, and aching body.’ Then gasped when she saw the results. She closed her computer quickly and then stared down at her stomach not believing what she had seen. Quickly she got out of bed put on the first pair of clothes she saw and then dashed out of the house trying to ignore the smells of cooked eggs since it was making her sensitive stomach even worse. When she got to the car she paused for a moment as she felt the bile claw up her throat. She ran to the front bush as quickly as possible emptying her stomach tears rolling down her face all the while.

Once she was done she slowly went back inside brushed her teeth and then got into her car to drive to the farthest drugstore out of Neptune to avoid being seen buying what she was about to purchase. 

As she drove she refused to think about the possibly ‘what ifs’ instead she turned the radio up as loud as possible to drown out her thoughts. After an hour of driving out of Neptune she went to the nearest drug store and bought three boxes of pregnancy tests. The clerk gave her a funny look, but Veronica knew it could’ve been a lot worse if she had stayed in Neptune and bought them.

When she’d made her purchases she drove back home and dashed into the bathroom to take the first box. She followed the directions and then set it carefully on the side of the sink and watched as the first turned blue. 

“What the hell, Veronica.” She mumbled to herself before grabbing a jug of water and draining it dry before taking the next one, then the one after that and finally she had taken all of them and they all came back the same way. Whether it were two lines, blue, a smiley face, or what they were all fucking positive. 

She gathered up the pregnancy tests and took them to her room dumping them on her desk. She then sat at her desk she had so often done homework at and stared at them as if willing them to change. 

“I can’t believe this is happening.” She whispered to herself again and again her fingers tangling in her long blonde hair.

“What am I going to do?” she said curling her small body in the chair she was occupying and buried her head into her knees. She knew her father was going to be furious, hell she was furious. Why the hell hadn’t she and Logan worn a condom? God that was like the first thing you learned in Sex Ed. But then Lilly ran across her head and she remembered the grief they had and how wearing a condom was like the least of their thoughts. 

She remembered that night so fondly. Sometimes at night when she couldn’t sleep and she felt like shit for people mocking her all day she thought of that night and how gentle and caring Logan had been. The way he touched her it was like he was trying to make all of her pain go away. He was so caring and kind making sure she was ok and that she wasn’t hurting too bad. He was so…unlike his present self it was incredible. That night was the last shard of hope that there was the old Logan still inside this new monstrous one. She gasped when she realized she was going to have to tell this new terribly psychotic one that she was pregnant with his child.

“Shit.” She whispered her mind going to how Logan was going to take the news. How he was going to claim it wasn’t his and ridicule her and tell the whole school. She began to shake in her chair as all the terribly scenarios rolled through her mind and she wondered who hated her so much to make all of this bad stuff happen.

First Duncan breaks up with her, then Lilly dies, then Lianne leaves, now finally she was pregnant by Neptune’s obligatory psychotic jackass. Like what the serious fuck did she do in another life to deserve all of this bad stuff happening? What was she going to do now? How was she supposed to tell her father let alone Logan? And what were they going to do? Her father was working day and night to keep his job and a roof over their heads and she had to graduate high school and go to college. How was she supposed to do any of this with a kid? Not to mention kids were expensive. In their health class they had added up how much kids were to ward off teenage pregnancies and kids were like, a million dollars all together with college and everything.

She didn’t have a million dollars! She had nothing. Nada. Zip. And how did you raise a kid on nothing? 

She put her hand over her stomach feeling an odd mix of feelings knowing that someone was living inside of her. She knew then that no matter how hard any of this was going to be she wanted the child. She wasn’t going to be Lianne. She wasn’t going to abandon someone that needed her. She knew it was silly and she was only 16, but she was going to do this. She didn’t know how or any of the important questions, but she did know that she would do this with or without anyone’s help. She was Veronica Mars after all and very resourceful. Whatever she had to do to make money that was legal she was ok with.

The only other thing she had to figure out was how she was going to tell her dad. Logan was a different problem all together, but her dad…he meant the world to her and when she’d see the disappointment in his eyes she didn’t know what she was going to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took Veronica a day and a half to finally be able to tell her father the truth. Monday when he had gotten home she’d hid the pregnancy tests and they had a nice quiet albeit elephant in the room type of dinner. Tuesday she went to school and tried to act like everything was fine, although every time she saw Logan she turned and walked in the opposite directions. She was so very not ready to have that conversation. Finally Tuesday night she knew she would have to tell him, her doctor’s appointment was in the morning.

“Dad, I uh I uh have something to uh tell you.” she stammered setting down her fork and looking across at the table at him.

Keith looked up from his plate and sat patiently for her to tell him what was going on.

“So I made a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow, but I—I think I know what’s—what’s wrong.” She stammered in the same way. She shifted uncomfortably under her father’s eyes.

Keith smiled encouragingly at her. “Well I hope it’s not life threatening.” He half joked.

“I’m pregnant.” Veronica blurted out. Then she got up and went to get the six pregnancy tests and dumped them on the table for him to see. He sat there stunned not knowing what to say as he stared at the pile then back at her.

“Please tell me this is an early April Fools Day joke.” He said picking one up and staring at the blue positive sign.

Veronica shook her head watching carefully his reaction.

“Veronica…I…how could you be so stupid?” he said his voice cracking.

She looked down in foolishness and cleared her through uncomfortably. “It’s not like I planned—“

“Do you know what this means? You and Duncan are going to have so much—“

“Duncan and I never…did it.” Veronica said cutting off the beginnings of the rant she knew he was going to do.

Keith dropped the pregnancy test back in the pile and turned to look at her fully. “Duncan isn’t…then who is?” he asked bewildered.

Veronica looked down. “Listen I know this is…a surprise.”

“That’s the understatement of the century.” He snapped rubbing a hand across his bald head.

“Dad, I know you’re angry—“

“I’m not angry Veronica I’m disappointed.” He said quietly and effectively silencing Veronica.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Keith spoke. “So whom do I have to kill?” he asked semi joking and really serious.

“After Lilly’s funeral…Logan and I…I’m really sorry, daddy I didn’t…I don’t…” Veronica trailed off as her throat closed up and the tears began to flow down her face.

Keith sighed and got up wrapping his arms around the sobbing girl.

“It’s ok, Veronica. Tomorrow we’ll go to the doctor and see what’s going on. It’ll be ok. I mean this could not have come at a worse time, but…” Keith trailed off stroking his daughter’s head.

“I know with Lilly’s murder and everything.” Veronica gulped trying to stop crying.

Keith sighed and kneeled down beside her. “There’s more…there’s been talk of trying to get me out of office.” He said quietly.

Veronica looked up at him with wide teary eyes. “But that’s stupid. You’re the best.” 

Keith smiled at his daughter. “I know, but they aren’t happy about this whole Kane case. We might have to move to somewhere less…expensive. Especially with the current circumstances.” He said looking down at her stomach.

Veronica looked away feeling horribly. 

“It’ll be ok, honey. We’ll figure something out, but just know that if you want to keep this kid you’re going to have to work extra hard and you are going to college.” Keith warned.

Veronica nodded.

“And you need to tell Logan. He’s as much apart of this as you are.” He added.

Veronica nodded and then gave him a watery smile. “Are you going to kill him?”

Keith smirked, “Only if he does something stupid. Now, tomorrow I’m coming with you to the appointment you shouldn’t be alone.” He said.

Veronica smiled and hugged him. Thinking about what her dad said she darkly thought if only you knew dad, if you only you knew.


	5. The Evidence

Chapter 5 The Evidence

Veronica stared at the dashboard in the Sheriff car. She didn’t want to look out the window to see the building she had just exited. Nor did she want to look at her father sitting beside her staring at the steering wheel. So the dashboard seemed like the best course of action. The dashboard was bland and didn’t stare back. It didn’t hold life changing news and it sure as hell wouldn’t reprimand her for her life choices. So yes, the dashboard staring was a really good option, Veronica thought with a heavy heart.

No one spoke as they sat in the car neither really knowing exactly what to say. Finally Keith reached over and put the keys in the ignition, but before he started the car he let his hand drop and he spoke for the first time since they exited the doctor’s office.  
“God, Veronica…how could you…how could you be so…” he trailed off running a tired hand across his face.

Veronica finally looked up from her staring contest with the dashboard and over at him. She took in a shaky breath and then slowly let it out.

“I’m sorry, daddy.” She whispered feeling the white hot tears gathering in her eyes and slowly fall down her cheeks.

Keith sighed and looked over at her before he wrapped an arm around his small blonde daughter and pulled her to him offering her support. He kissed her on the head and held her as she continued to cry into his crisp Sheriff uniform. He could feel his own tears gathering in his eyes as he thought about how his little girl was going to have a child of her own.

He had foolishly hoped that perhaps the pregnancy test had been wrong or she was late because of stress or something. He had hoped that her pregnancy wasn’t actually going to be reality, but the doctor had confirmed his worst nightmare and Veronica was indeed pregnant. At least he could hold her and tell her he loved her as her previously idealistic life fell apart before her eyes. At least he was there and he wasn’t planning on leaving.

“I’m so so sorry, daddy.” Veronica whimpered through the tears.

Keith held her close and kissed her hair again. “It’s ok, Veronica. I love you, and we’ll get through this.” Some how he added silently. He felt Veronica’s head move against his chest and then she pulled back wiping her tear stricken face with her hands.

“Honey—“ He began, but was cut off by the radio.

“Sheriff there’s been a break in at the Kane residence.” A voice came over the radio.

Keith sighed and stared the car putting the lights on so he could get over to the Kane residence as quickly as possible.

Veronica took the time they drove to gather her composure Neither of them spoke as they drove although Keith held her hand to offer comfort. Veronica’s mind couldn’t help, but go back to another time they rushed to the Kane residence she just hoped there wasn’t the same outcome. 

She shuddered as they pulled into the driveway and she saw Celeste and Jack standing in the front with a tan, bald, tattooed man sitting beside them. He looked crestfallen and bitter sitting there and Veronica recognized him vaguely from school. She thought he was the leader in the biker gang, Weevil or something, but she wasn’t sure. 

Keith got out and spoke briefly to Jake and Celeste before taking the bald teenager by the arm and cuffing him before escorting him back to the car. Veronica watched the whole thing with a frown wondering what a biker kid was doing in the Kane mansion.

Keith opened the back of the squad car and put Weevil in there without saying much then he turned to Veronica and gave her a brief smile.

“Honey I have to ask the Kane’s some questions. I’ll be right back.” He said soothingly.

Veronica nodded and watched her dad go back to Celeste and Jake who looked less than thrilled to be speaking to him. Veronica looked in the back of the car at the  
kid surprised to see him staring at her.

“Why aren’t you at school?” he asked.

Veronica smiled slightly, “I could ask you the same thing.” she said turning back around.

“Must be nice being the Sheriff’s daughter.” The biker said shifting around in the back.

“Why were you in there?” Veronica asked curiously.

The biker shrugged and looked out the window.

“Were you stealing?” 

“Can I get a lawyer if your gonna be askin me questions?” the biker said glaring at her.

“I’m Veronica.” 

“I know.” He said pausing for a moment before rolling his eyes. “I’m Weevil.”

“You’re in the bike gang right?” 

He smirked at her, “maybe. Do biker’s turn you on?” he asked leering at her and moving closer to the divide separating them. “It would give me great pleasure to…pop the Sheriff’s daughter’s cherry.” He said smirking at her.

Veronica stared at him for a moment before looking away. “So why did you break in?” she asked unfazed by his words.

Weevil shrugged, “I felt like it. Math got boring.”

Veronica smiled. “I promise I won’t tell.” 

“There’s nothing to tell.” He said begrudgingly.

Veronica frowned and moved to face forward.

“Do you really think Jake Kane killed Lilly?” Weevil asked out of the blue.

Veronica’s head snapped to look at him so fast she swore she got whiplash. She stared at him with wide blue eyes not knowing what to say.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” Weevil teased.

“Did you know Lilly?” Veronica asked narrowing her eyes at him. Besides seeing him and his biker goons on the quad she’d never talked to him before and she didn’t think Lilly had either, but there was something in his tone not mocking, but curious. 

Did Weevil know Lilly? Was Weevil Lilly’s big secret that she had never gotten a chance to tell her? Why or what was Weevil stealing from the Kane residence?

Weevil scoffed and opened his mouth to respond when there was a sharp tap on Veronica’s window. Veronica looked away from Weevil and to her window seeing  
Duncan standing there with a nervous look on his face. Behind him she could see Logan standing there with his head down and looking anywhere, but at the car with her inside it.

Veronica let out a long breath reminding herself to act normal. She closed her eyes for a brief moment mentally preparing herself for the awkward conversation she was going to have with her ex and the father of her child. Although Logan didn’t seem that keen to talk to her if his body language was an indication. She figured she’d just be having an uncomfortable guilty conversation with Duncan.

Joy. 

She opened the door and got out of the car not really wanting Weevil to hear her and Duncan’s conversation. She actually just didn’t want to be in the car with Weevil anymore too many questions floating around her head, although being outside there were even more questions.

Like what was Duncan doing here? Why was Logan here? How should she act around Logan? Did she say hi? Her head was hurting thinking about it.

“Hi.” Veronica said awkwardly.

“Hey.” Duncan said smiling.

Veronica looked behind him and over at Logan who was looking down at the pavement with his hands in his pockets.

“Logan.” She said quietly.

Logan nodded at her before lowering his head back down.

“How are you?” Duncan asked ignoring his friend’s anti social behavior.

Veronica shrugged ripping her eyes away from Logan. “Fine. Just…” she trailed off awkwardly.

Duncan didn’t talk to her at school, so why was he talking to her now?

“Why aren’t you guys at school?” she asked.

“Logan drove me and the school called to tell me what happened.” Duncan said looking over at the squad car with Weevil in the back. 

“I figured you didn’t want to sit in the car with a convict so I wanted to see how you were.” Duncan added.

Veronica nodded looking over at her dad who seemed to be talking to Celeste heatedly.

“I’m good, you know the same.” Veronica said awkwardly.

“Why haven’t you been at school?” Logan blurted out looking over at her.

Veronica smiled slightly. “That seems to be the questions of the day.” She mumbled. “I’ve been sick.” She said in the same awkward tone.

“Oh are you feeling better?” Duncan asked concerned.

Veronica nodded slowly her eyes on Logan who had finally stopped looking at his feet and were looking back and forth between her and Duncan critically.

“I will be.” She said quietly.

There was a long pause as everyone felt the weight of the awkwardness between them. The last time they had all been together standing in the driveway had been before Lilly died and that seemed to be the only thing on everyone’s mind.

“What are you doing for the holidays?” Duncan asked taking another stab at conversation.

“Staying in Neptune.” Veronica said giving him a small smile for trying.

“You?” she added.

“Aspen. Our families are going together.” Duncan said waving at Logan who gave her a stiff smile in response.

Veronica nodded thinking about how happy Lilly would’ve been to hear that. She smiled briefly thinking of her best friend and how if she were there none of this would be awkward. Hell none of this would be happening.

“Well have fun.” Veronica said trying to be cheery.

“I’m sure I’ll see you before we go. It’s three weeks away.” Duncan said giving her a smile.

Veronica gave him a polite smile back knowing that even if they did see each other within those three weeks talking to her would be on the bottom of his to do list before he goes.

“Mars.” Logan said suddenly.

Veronica looked over at him surprised. “Echolls.” She said falling for a brief moment back into the joking manner they used to have, but Logan didn’t smile back at her and she felt the weight of how much had changed finally drop.

Suddenly looking at him reminded her of everything that had happened between them and the very obvious elephant in the driveway of her being pregnant with his child. She couldn’t look at him it hurt too much.

“I uh am half done with the visual for our project. When do you want me to bring it by?” Logan asked scratching the back of his neck and shifting uncomfortably.

Veronica’s eyes widened her mind totally forgetting about the project. It was really the least of her issues right now. She looked down at the driveway having no where else to look.

“Oh…uh…why is it half done?” she asked ignoring the second half of the question.

Logan narrowed his eyes at her, “I wanted to show it to you before we finish, make sure it goes along with the paper and you approve and all that jazz.” he said his tone dripping in iciness.

“I’m sure it’s good…” she said trailing off and shifting uncomfortably. She continued to look away from him her mind playing on repeat that she was pregnant. She bit her tongue to make sure the words didn’t fall out. 

The truth was she didn’t want him to bring over the project. If she was alone with him she knew she’d tell him and she still wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. 

Telling her dad had been easy, telling Logan was going to be…difficult. Incredibly mind blowingly difficult. He was going to blow up and tell her he hated her and that it wasn’t his baby and probably tell the whole school and yes she was probably over exaggerating Logan wasn’t a bad person, well at least the Logan she knew wasn’t, but this new one was angry and unpredictable. She just couldn’t be alone with him it was decided.

“But don’t you wanna see it, make sure it meets your high status.” He said.

She shrugged staring at her feet.

“Are you guys doing a project together?” Duncan asked looking between them.

“Yeah the one for English.” Logan said watching Veronica shift and look anywhere but at him. He frowned wondering what was going on with her.

“Oh yeah.” Duncan said trailing off.

There was another long silence as the three old friends stood around not knowing what else to say. Surprisingly it was Logan to break the silence this time.

“So, Mars, when do you want me to come over?” he asked.

Veronica shrugged again nibbling on her lip and looking between her dad, Duncan, and the ground. 

“How’s Friday?” Veronica blurted out finally knowing he wasn’t going to drop it until they had made a decision.

Logan and Duncan shared a look then Logan shrugged. “Yeah sure. I can come over before Shelley’s party.” 

Veronica nodded glancing over at her dad and letting out a breath seeing him walking towards them.

“Are you ready, honey?” Keith said coming over and looking at Duncan then Logan. He gave Logan a particularly odd look.

“Duncan….Logan.” Keith said his eyes still on Logan.

Logan looked suspiciously between Veronica who’se head was down and her father who looked like he wanted to through him in the back of his squad car with the biker dude.

“Sheriff.” Duncan said smiling at Keith unbeknownst to the tension that was thick in the air.

“Ok bye.” Veronica chirped before sliding in the car as quickly as possible. Keith gave Logan one last glare before getting in the car and leaving the Kane mansion.

“That was weird.” Logan mumbled as they began to walk up the driveway.

“Why? Because you hate Veronica?” Duncan asked with an eye roll.

Logan shrugged. “I don’t hate her.” He muttered running a hand through his hair. His mind automatically going to the image of her naked in his bed the image that was burned into his brain and played on repeat.

“Really? Cause how you’ve been treating her says otherwise.” Duncan said raising an eyebrow at him.

“Like you’ve been better? You dumped her remember? Then we get here and after not talking to her for months you suddenly wanna chit chat in your driveway.” Logan said dryly.

Duncan shrugged as they reached his parents who were bickering. “She looked lonely.” He said ignoring his parents and going inside.

“Whatever man.” Logan said thinking how she didn’t look lonely in the squad car with the biker dude, but sad. He knew that sadness in her eyes that’s why he wouldn’t look at her. He knew that sadness because he saw it all the time in his own eyes and felt it in his heart. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Sheriff’s car pulled into the station and Keith took Weevil inside to get fingerprinted and questioned as Veronica trailed behind. Her mind was on Logan, Weevil, and the weird conversation with Duncan. When she entered the station she sat on the bench waiting for her dad to finish up with Weevil so he could take her home. It had been a long day and it just seemed as if it was going to get longer.

She watched as someone put stuff in the evidence room and she could hear a loud conversation between Deputy Lamb and some other cop in the office behind her. 

“…idiot Sheriff. I’m going to be Sheriff soon you know.” She heard Lamb brag. 

She rolled her eyes and went into her purse to pull out a book not wanting to listen to Lamb’s false lies.

“I heard there’s going to be a recall election.” The other cop said.

Veronica froze upon hearing that. She listened closer to the what the two idiots were talking about.

“I know he’s totally butchered this case. I can’t believe he blamed it on Jake Kane. That’s suicide. You know I could do a better job of solving the Kane girl’s murder.” 

“He’s going to get fired soon. I heard a few of the others talk about it. They’re only giving him a few more months to solve the case and if he doesn’t he gets the axe.”

“They should’ve gotten rid of him when he first accused Kane. I can’t wait to be Sheriff clean the trash off these streets.”

“Well I’m sure he went after him because of the affair with his wife.”

“No way! He shoulda went to see the wizard maybe then he wouldn’t make everyone suffer for his errors.”

Veronica’s jaw dropped open and she put her hand to her mouth in horror. 

Just then the man working in evidence left the room and went into the room with her dad leaving the evidence door open. After hearing what she just had she made up her mind and began to walk towards the evidence room quietly and fast so no one saw her. 

She knew it was wrong what she was about to do, but she couldn’t let her dad get fired. She couldn’t let Lamb become Sheriff and she couldn’t let Lilly’s murderer run around without a proper life sentence in a really terrible prison somewhere preferably with no heat so he died of frostbite. She was going to solve this case for her dad, for herself, and most of all for her best friend. 

So she went into the room and found the Lilly Kane murder evidence and took the interview tapes and some pictures and stuffed them into her bag before going back to her seat and trying to look as innocent as possible. Now all she had to do was go home and begin her research and analyzing and then maybe practice a few times in the mirror of how to tell Logan about the pregnancy.


	6. The Friend

Chapter 6 The Friend

It was Friday and Veronica wasn’t feeling so well. Well ok, truthfully she wasn’t feeling well because of the fact it was Friday. D-Day in her mind. She had to tell Logan today. Well she didn’t have to, but she should. She had talked about it this morning with her dad before they left for work and school respectfully.

He had told her ‘good luck’ and that everything would be fine, but Logan really needed to know. The sooner the better he had said and Veronica had agreed although now that she was faced with the prospect of actually telling him well that’s where the danger lay. 

She had laid awake for most of the night over analyzing the reaction he could have and the reaction she hoped he had. She understood he probably wouldn’t be happy about the news, but she wanted him to be at least a little happy. After the shock had worn down she was at least a little happy. Not in a I did this on purpose way, but more of a this is happening and I might as well make the most of the situation kind of way. 

She doubted though that Logan would be in the least happy. He did after all hate her, but that didn’t mean he had to be totally awful about the situation. She figured he’d rant, call her names, and then leave with no promise of being the father she wanted him to be to their child, but at least she’d tell him and her conscious would be cleared. 

The drive to school was much too short and for the most part her classes were as well. It was funny that when she didn’t want the time to go buy it did twice as fast as she had expected.

At lunch she was shaking so badly she dropped the entire stack of notebooks, folders, and textbooks she had been trying to cram into her bag. Her things sprawled everywhere and no one bothered to help her pick them up. With a heavy sigh she got down on her hands and knees and gathered the fallen items up.

“Here.” 

Veronica looked up surprised to see Duncan smiling down at her holding a textbook.

“Thanks.” She rasped out taking the book from him with shaking hands and shoving it into her bag.

“Oh and…these.” Duncan said trailing off seeing the pregnancy pamphlets she had gotten at the doctor’s office.

Veronica’s eyes widened and she snatched them from him as quickly as possible cursing her bad luck. The doctor had given her some informational pamphlets and she had unconsciously thrown them into her satchel. 

They must have gotten mixed in with my notebooks and fell out when I had dropped my things, she thought bitterly as she crammed the rest of the school stuff into her bag as Duncan stared at her in shock.

“Thanks.” She said again barely looking at him.

“Veronica is everything…ok? I mean do you—“ 

“I’m fine Duncan.” She snapped closing her locker louder than intended and then raced down the hall to her secret hiding spot under the bleachers to eat lunch. She had given up trying to eat on the quad all anyone did was mock her or call her names and with her pregnancy hormones she really couldn’t take it. Besides the combined smells made her stomach twist in knots and she was already having a bad enough time trying to eat because of the big reveal to Logan she’d have to do in three hours. Four hours if she could push it. Who was she kidding she was completely screwed and completely nervous to tell him and who could blame her after the way he’d treated her for the past few months.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duncan watched Veronica go with suspicious eyes. As Veronica walked away Logan came up to him and slapped him on the back giving him a playful grin.

“DK what’s up?” he asked looking over to where Duncan was staring off too. He frowned letting his hand slip off Duncan’s back. He scratched his neck awkwardly and shuffled his feet.

“What are you looking at?” Logan asked finally knowing full well that Duncan had been watching Veronica leave the hallway.

“Veronica’s been kinda weird lately, right?” Duncan asked turning to his best friend.

Logan shrugged trying to act nonchalant, but inside going ‘yes yes yes.’ He had noticed it as well. She was generally weird, but lately she’d been extra odd. But he also didn’t blame her since everyone was generally treating her like shit and talking about her, him included. Something that made him feel worse than he’d ever admit to anyone.

“I guess.” Logan said finally as they turned to walk towards the quad and to their usual lunch spot.

“I mean she’s barely at school. She was weird the other day at my house and now! Just now I saw pregnancy pamphlets in her notebooks.” Duncan said looking at Logan meaningfully.

Logan cleared his throat and rubbed his neck looking around the quad to avoid looking at Duncan. His mind swirling a mile a minute as the information was processed.

“Well you know…maybe it’s for health.” Logan said sitting at their table with the few other 09ers that had gotten there early.

“I think she’s pregnant.” Duncan said looking at Logan with wide eyes. He began to shake his head in disbelief.

“The thing is though it’s not mine. I mean we never did it, so who’s the dad?” he said making a majority of the people at the lunch table look at Duncan.

“Duncan I don’t think she’s pregnant.” Logan said hastily.

“Then why else does she have pregnancy pamphlets!” Duncan said loudly.

“Who’s this?” Madison asked eagerly.

“None of your damn business, Madison.” Logan snarled feeling anger coming on from nowhere. Well if he was being honest he didn’t like the topic of conversation. 

Veronica couldn’t be pregnant she would’ve told him, wouldn’t she have? He thought back to the last few weeks and realized with the way he had been treating her that maybe she wouldn’t have. Honestly he wasn’t that angry at her anymore about her dad and the betrayal he felt about her siding with him. Now it was more about what had happened between them and the guilt he felt about it. He was also angry about how Lilly had left him alone and the one person he could count on was gone too. He was angry and betrayed and he was taking it on the one person who had been there for him through everything, Veronica. But that didn’t excuse his behavior. Not really. He was a jackass, he knew it, but maybe when he went over to her house later to work on the project he could talk to her, make her see where he was coming from. 

“Chill out, Logan.” She said flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

“It’s Veronica. I think Veronica might be—“ Duncan began to say before Logan hit him hard in the arm.

“Dude. It’s not true. We know it’s not true.” He said standing up suddenly.

“Where are you going, man?” Duncan called after him.

Logan ignored him and walked back towards the school. He had lost his appetite.

For the rest of the day Logan thought about what Duncan had said. During English he stared at Veronica trying to see any indication that she was indeed with child, but the only thing he got was a glare from her for catching him staring. 

Once school was out he got in his car and dropped Duncan off at home before driving over to Veronica’s. 

He was nervous when he knocked on the door and fidgeted on her porch as he waited for her to open up. The only thing he could think about as he stood on the porch was whether or not she was pregnant. When she opened the door finally he burst in and looked around the house as if trying to spot a clue that she was indeed having a child.

“Logan…” she said rolling her eyes at his behavior.

Logan looked down at her and offered her a small smile before dropping his bag by the kitchen table. He began to walk around her house taking in all the different trinkets and décor he’d seen a hundred times before at her house.

Veronica watched him through narrowed eyes having no idea what he was doing. In fact if she wasn’t mistaken she thought that he seemed to be looking for something. 

“What are you doing?” she asked exasperated when he took an old picture of her and Lilly from elementary school off the shelf to study it.

“I’m just looking at what you’ve done with the place.” He said nonchalantly putting back the picture and resuming his inspection of her house.

“It’s the exact same from every time you’ve been here.” She said rolling her eyes and going to sit at the kitchen table to boot up her computer.

“Just taking in the changes, Mars.” He said coming to stand at the table in front of her. He watched her for a moment concentrating on turning her computer on and then suddenly he began to walk towards the back of the house where the bedrooms and bathrooms were.

“Where are you going?” she called out anxiously.

“Bathroom. Is that ok, Mars?” he yelled ignoring the groan she produced from her lips. 

He smirked at his ability to get under her skin. He went into the bathroom and began to look around wondering if he would even find any clues to her being pregnant. It’s not like he could come out and ask her, well he could but he wasn’t. He wasn’t going to ask her because he—He stopped suddenly staring at the pink and white box hidden underneath some tissues. He ignored the fact he was digging through the garbage and he pulled out the box staring at it in awe. 

‘Early Pregnancy Test’ was written across the box burning the sight into Logan’s brain. His heart began to beat faster almost climbing its way out of his body. He looked inside the box and saw nothing and he closed his eyes before going back outside to face Veronica.

He clutched the box in his fist as he left the bathroom walking slowly back down the hallway and towards where Veronica sat looking between her computer and at his notes she had taken from his bag. She glanced over at him emerging from the bathroom and not paying much attention to his facial expression or what was in his hand she turned back to the computer.

“So I was thinking for the teaching method we could show the visual aka your power point and then we could each take turns reading from it. Maybe we could do a crossword puzzle or something too.” She said looking at her computer and then back down at his notes.

“Do you have the power point so I can look at it?” she asked annoyance lacing her voice. “Or were you planning on being a jackass and telling me we should work on this project today when really you’re just gonna drop your stuff off and go to Shelley’s party?” she said dryly finally turning to look at him. She frowned when she saw him staring at her with an unreadable expression.

“What? Am I speaking Swahili? Logan, where’s the power point? Hello Logan! Where is the power—“ she said speaking slowly.

He cut her off by dropping the pregnancy test box on her computer keyboard shocking her into silence.

“Is it true?” he whispered.

She looked down at the box trying to breath. She didn’t want him to find out this way. She was planning on working on the project then telling him and sending him off to Shelley’s. It wasn’t supposed to be happening this way. She closed her eyes and pinching her arm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“You mean do I actually really like chocolate over gummy bears? It really is true.” She said making a lame joke to try and lighten the mood.

“Veronica…are you pregnant?” he asked in the same quiet tone.

She continued to stare at the pregnancy test not knowing what to say. Well she did, but she didn’t want to say it. Oh well, I must take the plunge. Here it goes she thought bitterly.

“Yep.” She said finally looking up from the box and over at him.

Logan let out a shaky breath before leaving the house slamming the door behind him. Veronica stared at the door for a moment not knowing what to do when suddenly it opened again and Logan came back in looking worse for wear.

“I’m sorry.” He said running a hand through his hair and beginning to pace the length of her living room/ kitchen hybrid.

“I’m really sorry. This is all my fault.” He said making wild hand gestures with his hands and continuing to pace.

“Logan, it’s not just your fault.” She said delicately staring at him as he moved even faster.

“This shouldn’t have happened. I just…I’m so incredibly sorry, Veronica you have to believe me I didn’t want this to happen and I took advantage of you and I just…I feel so fucking guilty.” He cried his movements making her dizzy just looking at him.

Cautiously as if she was approaching a frightened animal she got out of her seat and went over to Logan placing a hand on his arm trying to get him to stop moving.

“It’s not your fault, Logan. I wanted it too.” She said holding him by his biceps to get him to slow down. She tilted his head up and got him to look into her eyes and she felt suddenly like everything would be ok. Logan looked straight into her core and she shivered at the sudden onset of emotions that stirred within her.

“It’s gonna be ok.” She said moving her hand off his bicep and caressing his face. He flinched at her touch and she dropped her hands and took a step back.

“How can you say that after everything I’ve done? I’ve hurt you and I just…I can’t live with myself knowing I’ve hurt you and all I’ve wanted to do was pro—I mean I just took advantage of you.” he said making gestures with his hands to emphasize his point.

Veronica gave him a small smile. “Logan I wanted it just like you and as guilty as you feel I’m sure I feel just as much, but neither of us planned for any this to happen.”

“How can you be so calm? How long have you known?” he asked curiously.

“About a week and I promise I’m still in shock and I’m not calm. I’ve spent the entire time freaking out, but I need to accept this if I’m going to keep this baby.” 

“We.” He said.

“What?” she asked frowning.

“We are going to keep this baby. You said I.” he said correcting her.

“Oh…I didn’t…well I mean…you have to know there are no half measures, Logan. Once you’re in you’re in. You can’t decide to change your mind half way through. This is a breathing human and I don’t want him or her to be abandon by a parent. I won’t allow that.” she said quietly.

Logan nodded, “I wouldn’t do that, Ronnie.” He said quietly.

She looked away trying to ignore how her heart jumped when he called her ‘Ronnie’ like he used to.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Were you going to tell me at all?” he asked the nagging question that had been on his brain since Duncan told him his suspicions.

Veronica bit her lip nervously. “I was going to tell you today after the project. I just wasn’t sure how. I figured you’d storm out of here and call me some names or something and say the kid’s not yours.”

Logan looked at her alarmed. “I wouldn’t do that you know me better than that.”

Veronica shrugged in a what can I say kind of way. “You hate me Logan how else was I supposed to react?” she said pointing out the obvious.

Logan stepped back from her and resumed his pacing his hands gesturing wildly again.

“I don’t hate you.” he said.

“Coulda fooled me.” She said woodenly crossing her arms over her chest.

Logan stopped pacing and walked over to her determinedly. He cupped her face in his hands and she flinched at the sudden contact, but he didn’t let go wanting to look her in the eye.

“I don’t hate you, Ronnie.” He whispered. “These last couple of months have been hard and I haven’t dealt with them the way I should. I’m angry because of Lilly and how she left us and I’m filled with guilt because of what we’ve done. I’ve taken the angry, betrayal, and guilt I feel out on you and that’s not fair, but I’ve been raised in a way that I’ve linked anger and love and that’s exactly what I’ve done here.” He said making sure he held her eyes.

“I’m not saying that I’m in love with you Veronica.” He said backtracking not missing the odd flicker in her blue eyes. “But you were one of my best friends and I want to try again. I’ve missed you and the only person I have to blame is me.” He said quietly finally allowing his hand to drop from her face.

She nodded feeling her throat clench up at his words. “I’ve missed you too.” She admitted softly. “But I’m not going to forgive you so easy. Everything you did, it really hurt and…” she trailed off not knowing how to form the rest of her thoughts or at least she wasn’t ready to tell him her thoughts.

“I know and I’ll do everything I can to make up for what I’ve done. I really am sorry Ronnie, but please understand I don’t hate you.” he said feeling a different kind of guilt than he wasn’t used to feeling. He was now feeling guilty for hurting Veronica, something that both confused him and scared him. He wasn’t sure what to make of the new guilt he was feeling so he tried to put it on the backburner to think about. Or maybe it wasn’t so new maybe it had always been there he was just now coming to realize it.

He smiled sadly at her and reached out a hand before thinking better of it and letting it drop to his side. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked towards the table with their things on it.

“So what now?” he asked quietly.

She let out another breath trying to calm her breathing so she could speak properly. 

“I guess we should work on our project and you can go to Shelley’s.” she said willing her body to move back to the table so they could continue working.

Logan looked back at her and smiled lightly. “I’m not going to Shelley’s.” he admitted a new bounce in his step.

Veronica looked down so he wouldn’t see her smile. She looked back up and over at him and nodded. “Ok, well then let’s um let’s work on this.” She said trying to get her composure in order.

“I meant like what’s going to happen between us.” He said moving to the table.

She looked back at him and then at the box that still sat on the keyboard.

“I’m thinking friends. That would be the easiest.” She said glancing over at him anxiously.

Logan opened his mouth and then thought better of it closing it. He opened it again and then finally closed it nodding in a subdued manner. That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but if Veronica only just wanted them to be friends than that should be ok. He was ok with friends, he kept telling himself. If Veronica wanted him as a friend he’d make sure he was the best damn friend ever.

“Ok.” He said finally almost choking on the word. 

They sat down at the table and began to work when suddenly Logan remembered what Duncan had said earlier.

“Did you see Duncan earlier?” he asked handing her the project that was on his flashdrive.

She nodded half paying attention. “He helped me pick up my stuff.” She said vaguely.

“Well he saw the pregnancy pamphlets and he thinks…well he thinks you’re pregnant.” He said watching Veronica carefully for her reaction.

Her head shot up to look at him and she let out a breath trying not to freak out.

“Are you serious?” Veronica demanded to know.

Logan nodded, “yeah he saw the pamphlets and asked me about them. Madison might’ve heard at lunch.” He said looking down at the papers in front of him.

Veronica closed her eyes and massaged her temples. “I’ll deal with it Monday.” She said after a moment.

“You don’t have to deal with it alone.” He said reaching across the table and taking her hand.

She smiled sadly at him. “It would’ve come out sooner than later anyway. It’s fine Logan I’ll handle it.”

“But I don’t want you to handle it. I want to help you.” he said trying to get her to understand.

Veronica looked at him with such warmth Logan swore his insides were melting. 

“Ok, but you know once everyone knows we’re gonna be majorly gossiped about.” She warned.

Logan shrugged and gave her a charming smirk. “I am the product of spotlight. I think I can handle it. Besides with my charming looks and your witty disposition we can handle them.” He said winking across the table at her and making her giggle slightly. Logan felt his stomach warm at the sound of her giggle and he made a mental note to encourage her to laugh and smile more often.

“You don’t have to do this, Logan.” She said tightening her hold on his hand. “Just because I’m pregnant—“

“It’s not just because you’re pregnant. How I’ve treated you for the past few months is wrong and I know it’ll take a lot to have you trust me and to be around me again, but we’ll get there. We’re friends again and that’s all that matters.” He said itching to reach across the table to kiss her.

She nodded enjoying the warmth his hand in hers brought her. “Yeah, friends.” She said wishing that maybe she had suggested they be more, but then again she wanted to see how well their friendship worked before taking the next leap. Besides they still felt guilty about the whole Lilly and Duncan thing and he still had to earn her trust and forgiveness. After all they had a child to worry about now. She was just glad telling him had been a lot better than she thought. As scenarios go this was the best.


	7. The Plan

Chapter 7 The Plan

“So what do you want for dinner?” Veronica asked as she perused her refrigerator.

Logan looked up from the Powerpoint he had been finishing on her computer. 

“Doesn’t matter.” He said going back to making sure he had put all of the themes for Macbeth in the slide he was working on.

“I was thinking of making tacos.” She mused looking at the various ingredients.

“Tacos? Shouldn’t you be eating things that won’t contribute to the upchuck factor?” He mocked earning an exasperated look from her. 

“I have a craving for tacos.” She whined closing the door to the fridge and sitting back in her chair.

He chuckled, “Are you sure the baby’s mine? It’s not that gang member that was in the back of your dad’s car?” he teased.

She stared at him for a moment not knowing if he was playing with her or not. When he grinned across the table at her she let a small smile show and then she leaned back in her seat and shook her head.

“Too soon, Logan. Too soon.” She chastised.

At least he had the good graces to look ashamed. They were quiet for a moment each looking at the other waiting for them to break the silence.

“So…tacos.” He said after it was clear Veronica wasn’t going to be the first to break.

She nodded, “Yeah. I just figured it’d be easy…but then again I didn’t factor in the upchuck factor.” She grimaced.

“Have you been to the doctor?” Logan asked suddenly realizing they really hadn’t talked much about the baby at all. It seemed that once she’d told him they had circled the issue. 

Veronica nodded, “Yeah we went to confirm it. I have another appointment in two weeks for a full examination.” She said.

“Can I go with you?” Logan asked surprising her.

She opened her mouth a few times completely taken off guard by his request. She wanted to say yes it was his child too, but she also didn’t know how comfortable she was with it personally. She had a long way to go before she was fully comfortable with Logan again. After someone turns their back on you it’s hard to place trust in them again and despite what he had said earlier about wanting to be involved she still wasn’t so sure. Like I said no half measures and I’ll be damned if anyone abandons this child she thought.

“If you don’t want me to that’s—that’s fine I just…I just really want to be there.” He stuttered seeing something in her face that obviously showed she wasn’t sure about what he had asked.

“Logan…” she trailed off not knowing how to start.

Thankfully she was saved by his phone ringing. He looked down at the caller ID and frowned before telling her he had to take the call. He went into the bathroom to speak to his secret caller and Veronica in turn went back to the fridge to continue to stare at the contents. She could always make pancakes or spaghetti, but neither sounded appealing. As a matter of fact she was hungry, but nothing really appealed to her. She only thought about what would happen once it went down and how soon it would come back up. 

“Sorry about that.” Logan said coming back into the room and holding his phone tightly.

“It’s fine.” she said dismissively.

“So about dinner.” She said going back to the conversation at hand.

Logan nodded distractedly. 

Veronica frowned. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.

“Just the falsely concerned father of his ideal family relaying the message that he’s cancelling our trip to Aspen with the Kanes to play doting action hero to the masses.” Logan said cryptically.

Veronica frowned and Logan finally looked up at her with a small smirk playing on his lips.

“Aaron is cancelling our Christmas together so he can work on another movie. It’s a big deal. I can still go to Aspen, but…I don’t really want to spend the holiday with a catatonic best friend and his military dictator parents.” He said throwing his phone down beside Veronica’s computer.

“I’m sorry.” She said not knowing what else to say.

Logan shrugged, “So what are we having for dinner, Miss Mars?” he asked putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair. If she didn’t know him so well she’d think he didn’t care about his lack of Christmas plans, but she did and she knew he was hurt and angry on the inside. She remembered back what he had said a few hours before about how he linked love and anger together. 

“I don’t know.” She said sighing. “Everything I think about eating is…” she trailed off thinking of how things she loved to eat have turned her stomach.

Logan got out of his seat and went over to the fridge to look through its contents, which were close to almost being half empty. “Well how about I make something.” He suggested.

Veronica laughed until she realized he was serious. “Seriously?” she said gasping.

“Since when can you cook?” she asked looking at him in amazement.

He shrugged and ducked his head in embarrassment into the fridge to avoid Veronica’s curious eyes. Veronica though being the teen sleuth she was identified the redness of the tips of his ears and saw that he was in fact blushing. She bit her lip to keep from smiling at this unforeseen knowledge of Logan.

“So?” she asked again prompting an answer out of him. She went to stand by the fridge and slowly began to shut it so Logan would have to join reality and stop trying to ignore her by his faux curiosity of the contents of her fridge.

“Maybe I just randomly picked it up.” He said refusing to let her shut the door to the fridge so he could continue trying to avoid her eyes. He knew once he looked at her he’d spill everything and he wasn’t ready to commit to the level of humiliation she’d have in store for him.

Veronica chuckled, “I’m betting Mrs. Navarro taught you or your mom sent you to a cooking class.” She paused and then her eyes lit up. “Or! Your dad taught you so you could get with the ladies.” She said teasingly. 

Logan finally moved away from the fridge and all embarrassment or joking was gone when he looked at her. His eyes dark with guarded emotions. “My dad didn’t teach me anything.” He sad shortly and Veronica knew she had said something wrong.   
Despite how well she knew Logan she knew that she didn’t know everything about him. She was sure even Lilly didn’t know everything about him. The one thing she did know was that Logan was very touchy about his dad and bringing him up was like sucking the air out of the room and replacing it with Carbon dioxide. Bad news.

“I’m sorry.” She said quietly.

Logan shook his head and went to sit back down at the table. “It’s not—“

Suddenly the door burst open and Keith came in looking exhausted. “Ver—Logan!” Keith said surprised to see the young man there. He looked over at Veronica who had her eyes downcast so he couldn’t tell if she had finally told the young man the truth.

“Sheriff.” Logan said looking between Veronica and Keith uncomfortably.

“What brings you here?” Keith said trying to gauge how much Logan knew about the situation.

“Uh…well…a project…sir.” Logan stuttered gesturing at the paper covered table.

Keith narrowed his eyes at him and then looked at his daughter who gave him a small smile.

“So how are you doing?” Keith asked in his cop voice like he was interrogating Logan instead of having a polite conversation with him. His eyes didn’t stray from the boy in an eerie unblinking manner.

“G-Good.” Logan said slowly realizing that Keith probably knew about the pregnancy. He gulped knowing he was either going to get a very long speech or a very promising threat to remove body parts that probably involved guns. Whichever the option was he wasn’t thrilled with either one.

“Good.” Keith said smirking at him.

“Can Logan stay for dinner?” Veronica asked innocently looking over at her dad.

Keith nodded, “sure. That leaves us time to catch up.” He said throwing a killer grin at Logan.

Logan gulped and looked at Veronica with wide eyes. She smiled slightly at the helpless look Logan gave her and finally decided to let him off the hook.

“Logan knows dad you don’t have to try and scare him. He wants to go to my doctor’s appointment.” She said instead of trying to tell her dad that Logan was in this for the long haul. Baby steps, she told herself.

Keith raised his eyebrows and took in the young man. “And are you going to step up or will you be—“

“I’m stepping up. I’m trying to do the right thing.” Logan said cutting Keith off. He figured this conversation was going to be a mix of a long speech and a threat. He didn’t mind that much, on some level he felt like he deserved it.

“Good.” Keith said nodding. “What will you do?” he added not in his cop voice that he had been using, but in more of a curious one.

Logan looked back over at Veronica and then her father. “I’m going to stay. I don’t really know what else I can really do, I mean I’m sixteen, Veronica’s sixteen, but I want to be the best I can be and that means being there and taking responsibility for my actions. I don’t necessarily want a kid, no one does at sixteen, but I will stand up for Veronica and I will be there for the child.” He said and then he smirked. “And since I have money I can provide a good home and all that jazz, plus a trust fund.” He said smirking in amusement at the looks on the Mars’ faces.

Veronica looked at him in disbelief and Keith stared at him hard before breaking into laughter.

“What’s for dinner?” he asked sitting at the chair across from Logan since Veronica had vacated it.

 

Veronica stared between the two men for a moment in bewilderment before finding her voice. “You’re just going to allow him to bequeath a trust fund onto your grandchild! Dad! Where are your morals? Where is your sanity?” Veronica exclaimed throwing her hands into the air in shock.

Keith laughed, “My morals are safe as is my sanity although that might come into question if we don’t eat soon. As for the trust fund I think it’s a good idea. I still want both of you to go into higher learning and make something of yourselves, but the trust fund for the grandkid isn’t a bad touch.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my father?” Veronica exclaimed putting her hands on her hips.

Keith gave her a knowing look, “Veronica, I am both safe and sane as are you and you should know that money makes the world go round, so if your kid has a Trust fund then they have more opportunities because money speaks. Sadly that how the world works. Now, dinner.”

“But what if they become spoiled because of the Trust fund and the money?” she asked quietly speaking the first thing that she feared in becoming a mother. Besides the whole life changing thing, money was always in the back of her mind.

Keith sighed and reached over to pat his daughter’s hand Logan watching curiously all the while.

“That’s up to you to make sure it doesn’t happen.” Keith then turned and nodded and Logan. “And him too. Now, dinner before I get really crazy and immorally corrupt.” He said rubbing his hands together.

Logan smiled as Veronica laughed and began to pull some of the Taco ingredients out and Keith began to tell them about his day. He felt warm inside, like he was home. It was weird how being around Veronica made him feel like that.

The trio ate dinner together and informed each other about their day. Veronica told Keith how Logan found out and Keith couldn’t help but laugh at Logan’s sleuthing ability. He was sad he’d missed it.

“So what are you going to do about Duncan?” Keith asked as they cleaned the dishes.

Veronica looked over at Logan who stared back at her in bewilderment. 

“I mean you guys are his friends, shouldn’t you…tell him first?” Keith prompted.

Logan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I mean…that would probably be fair.”

Veronica looked at him incredulously. “What would be fair is if he’d actually told me we broke up instead of just avoiding me.” She said indignantly. 

Logan smirked and looked over at Keith who wiped off the last dish and places it in the rack.

“Well I’m off to bed. I gotta be in early tomorrow.” He said excusing himself so the two teens could talk. He eyed Logan as he left the room making a mental note to talk with the father of his grandchild without Veronica in the room. He had some things he wanted to say to the Echolls boy about the responsibilities he was taking on as well as how he felt about Veronica and possibly a showing of his gun collection. 

Veronica watched her father disappear before nodding to the couches so they could sit down together to talk.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of Duncan’s feelings in this. He’s going to be devastated.” She breathed knowing she shouldn’t feel guilty, but feeling it all the same. “I mean I thought about it, but I didn’t really think about how to tell him.” She explained.

Logan nodded, “So how do we tell him?”

Veronica sighed and fell back against the couch considering the options. “Maybe we should do it together?”

He considered that and fell back beside her, “That’s probably the best thing to do. I mean I don’t want you to tell him alone and I personally don’t either so…together.”

“Together.” She said placing her hand on top of his.

Logan looked down at it with wide eyes and then back up at her. She realized what she’d done and pulled away stuffing her hands into her lap winding her fingers tightly together so she didn’t move.

“What about the school and your parents?” she asked trying to fill the awkward void their almost hand holding made.

“Um…well Dad’s going to Europe to film and mom will probably go visit her friends in New York City like she does every year dad goes away during the holidays.” He said shrugging. 

“But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“What are you going to do for Christmas?” she asked concerned.

He smirked, “worried about me, Ronnie?”

She rolled her eyes and gave an unlady like snort. “Hardly. I’m just curious.” She said excusing her behavior.

Logan chuckled, “right. So you say.” He paused. “I’m probably going to play video games and eat dinner in my room.” He said bluntly.

Veronica looked over at him and saw he was picking at a string on his shirt avoiding her gaze. “You can come over here. We won’t do much, just watch Christmas cartoons and eat dinner. Maybe open presents if I can convince the Sheriff to break some Christmas laws. You can come…if you want.” She said.

He continued to avoid looking her and when she was about to open her mouth to take it back he nodded and looked up an odd mixture of emotions in his eyes.

“Yeah. Ok. That’d be cool.” He said.

“Great! You can bring dessert.” She said giving him a small smile.

Logan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling back. That sat there like that each avoiding the other’s gaze so they didn’t see how happy the invitation had made both of them.

Veronica being Veronica got them back on the task at hand. 

“So…Duncan.” 

Logan groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Yes, the Catatonic Duncan.” He said leaning his head back against the couch.

“How should we tell him?” she asked.

“Like a band-aid.” 

“Good enough for me.” 

“What do you think he’ll do?”

“I don’t know. Freak out, maybe?” Veronica suggested.

Logan looked at her curiously. “You don’t seem to care.”

“It’s not that…it’s just…he broke up with me without telling me, like anything. At all. And I did love him don’t get me wrong, but after everything that’s happened these last few months Duncan and I could never happen again. Obviously I’m pregnant, but even if I wasn’t I couldn’t get back with Duncan he’s too far…away and I’m not the same person I was. Besides I can’t get over the fact that he hurt me the way he did. Maybe I’m being petty or maybe I’m finally seeing the big picture.” Veronica admitted quietly.

“I don’t want to hurt him and I do want to tell him before Monday when I’m labeled a Super Slut, but as for everything else…” she trailed off with a shrug.

Logan stared at her like he’d never seen her before. “I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

Veronica gave him a sad smile, but chose not to respond not wanting to give him false hope. God knew she got enough of that these days.

“So when do you wanna do it?” she asked.

Logan ran a hand through his hair. “How about tomorrow? We can meet at my house.” He said.

Veronica nodded slowly and then let her head sink into the back of the couch feeling tired from the days events.

“I’d better go.” Logan said seeing how tired Veronica looked.

She nodded and they stood up to gather their books and the project. “We have to finish the rest of it anyway.” She said gesturing to the half finished project.

Logan groaned. “Do we have to?”

She laughed, “yes! How else will we go to higher learner?”

“Speak for yourself I have a trust fund.” He said smiling playfully at her.

She huffed and shut her computer down as he put his stuff in his bag.

“How are we going to tell your parents?” she asked curiously.

Logan stilled as he put his things away and then looked over at her with guarded eyes.

“I can come over for dinner.” She suggested.

Logan gulped and nodded. “Um…I mean you don’t…you don’t have to—“

“It’s fine. You stood up to my dad and we’re telling Duncan together I just feel telling your parents together would be the best course of action.” She suggested assuming Logan’s strange behavior had to do with the fact he was going to tell his parents about them becoming grandparents.

“Um…I mean…I guess.” He stuttered avoiding her eyes.

She frowned watching him and tried to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach. 

“Ok. Well maybe after the holidays.” She said.

He nodded and slung his bag over his shoulder. “Yeah. Sure.” He said before going to the door.

Veronica stopped him with a hand to his shoulder though and she nervously shifted in front of him. “You know, I didn’t answer your question before.”

He frowned trying to remember everything they’d talked about.

“About the doctor’s appointment.” She clarified.

“Right.” He said nodding.

“You can come. It’s in two weeks on a Thursday in the morning.” She quietly.

Logan smiled slightly at her, “thank you.” He said. They stared at each other for a moment each not knowing what to do. Finally he turned and left Veronica’s. He stood on her porch for a moment enjoying the warmth he still had with him because of being around Veronica and then he went back into the real world where there was nothing, but cold.

Veronica spent the remainder of her evening on her computer setting up The Lilly Kane Investigation. She organized the evidence and began to listen to the tapes adding important information to each file that had a different suspect. She began to plan for her next course of action until she fell asleep exhausted. She only awoke to empty the contents of her stomach of tacos just like Logan predicted and for some reason that made her miss him.


	8. The Rage

Chapter 8 The Rage

Veronica had always been a brave girl. She had to be with a friend like Lilly who liked to get into trouble and a mother like Lianne who was a full blown alcoholic. With her father as Sheriff she had learned how to push the fear away. Something she needed especially after Lilly’s death and the changes occurred.

One night the first time her father had gotten hurt on the job she had asked him how he managed to stay completely fearless in a very scary situation. He had told her that to get rid of the fear he counted down from ten and by one the fear would be gone. She hadn’t fully understood what he had meant until she had, had her first real encounter with fear. When Lilly died. 

Since then she used the counting method whenever she encountered anything she didn’t want to do. For instance the morning her father had announced that Jake Kane was the murderer she had waited in her car and counted down from ten before going into the school. When she had told Logan about the pregnancy she had counted down from ten and now that they were about to reveal to Duncan what was going on she was doing it again. 

It was a Saturday so Veronica had dawdled as long as possible before going over to Logan’s. They had agreed on noon since Duncan had gone to Shelly Pomroy’s pre-game party the night before to gear up for the real rager that Saturday night. Shelley’s parents were out of town and since the holidays were coming up most people were going to Aspen to celebrate so the sophomore took advantage of the absence and the party mood. Veronica of course wasn’t going she had thought about it to show the 09ers she was brave, but she was pregnant and what pregnant girl went to a high school party?

So Veronica dawdled partly because she didn’t want to tell Duncan and partly because she knew he’d be hungover and already not in the best mood. It had nothing to do with seeing Logan. 

Well maybe slightly it did, it was Logan after all the father of her child, which in itself was strange to think let alone say. Granted they had talked about everything last night that had to be put out there, but that still didn’t make Veronica feel any better about the situation. She kept waiting for him to strike and tell him he was leaving her to raise the child alone. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak and so it made her even more tense around Logan. 

It probably didn’t help that she kept replaying the nights events over and over analyzing every single detail.

Veronica sat in her car in the Echolls’ driveway taking a moment longer to count down twice from ten because of the fear raging through her. With heavy steps she got out of the car and rang the doorbell with shaky hands. She didn’t see Duncan’s car in the driveway so she figured they might have some time to plan a little of what they wanted to say. Right as she thought that though Duncan’s car pulled up beside her own and he got out a confused look on his face.

“Hey.” Veronica chirped her voice too high and perky demonstrating her nervousness. 

Duncan gave her an odd luck, “What are you doing here?” he asked. 

Before she got to answer though Logan opened the door.

“Greetings and salutations.” He said looking over at Veronica a moment too long.

Duncan looked between them curiously watching as Veronica ducked her head away from Logan’s gaze.

“What’s Veronica doing here?” Duncan asked looking at his ex who was staring at her shoes.

“How about we gather inside and then we can share.” Logan said waving them in his demeanor jerky and ridged.

Duncan frowned and stepped into the house following Logan into the living room with Veronica walking with the same heavy steps she’d taken to get to the door. She kept counting down from ten, but the fear wasn’t going away. The closer they got to the living room the more she wanted to bolt. She took several deep breaths feeling her heartbeat spike and she tried to concentrate on something that would bring her ease. 

She tried for the TV or the sounds of Mrs. Navarro cleaning in the kitchen and doing the laundry. Finally she settled on watching Logan and oddly enough it seemed to work. She frowned as she realized that and wondered how exactly fucked up her hormones were to make her anxiety decrease staring at Logan. She made a mental note to start looking into her pregnancy symptoms to see if maybe it was a side effect because surely looking at Logan would never make her calm. It was impossible.

“So what’s going on?” Duncan asked sitting on the couch and looking between the two of them. 

Veronica sat down delicately on the edge of the couch and Logan copied. Duncan looked between the two and Logan tried not to look at anyone as Veronica stared at the TV counting once again to dissolve her fear.

“We wanted to talk to you about what you saw yesterday with the…the pamphlets.” Logan began looking over at Veronica waiting to see if she wanted to cut in. She sat there stoically staring at the TV.

“Oh is this about what Madison heard? Listen I didn’t mean to say anything, I was just really surprised. I mean we never had sex and Veronica you don’t hang out with any guys so…the pamphlets were for a health class right?” Duncan asked hopefully looking between his ex and his best friend.

“Duncan…” Veronica began looking over at Logan who nodded for her to continue. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out shoving the fear of telling him away and finally feeling a little like her old self.

“I am pregnant.” She said bravely channeling the girl she was growing into after her best friend died.

“Oh.” Duncan said shocked. He looked straight ahead for a moment before getting off the couch and beginning to pace. Veronica was reminded of when she told Logan the day before and she shook her head to get rid of the thought.

“How…How?” Duncan asked pausing to look over at her.

Veronica looked away from the crushed expression on his face hesitating to go into the questions.

“I mean it’s not mine, right? We never…we never had sex.” Duncan stuttered resuming his pacing, but this time Logan noticed him tightening his hands into fists.

“It’s not…I’m sorry Duncan, but we broke up. You broke up with me and after Lilly died—“ she began.

“After Lilly died? You couldn’t have sex before Lilly died, but after you were willing to open your legs? What changed? Did the grief change your morals? Your views?” Duncan paused and stared hard at Veronica as she sat there with her mouth agape by what was coming out of his lips. He shook his head and continued. “So Veronica you didn’t want to have sex with me, but once Lilly dies you grab the first guy you could find to screw! After I asked you numerous times about it and you kept telling me you weren’t ready. What changed?” Duncan asked his voice hard.

“Duncan it wasn’t like that. It just…happened.” Veronica said helplessly. 

“It just happened? Was it the old falling on him naked and screwing him excuse? Or is the I was so drunk excuse?” Duncan demanded to know.

“You broke up with me!” Veronica yelled standing suddenly just as Logan got up as well and began to shout.

“It wasn’t like that, man.” Logan said right as Veronica spoke.

Duncan stopped pacing and looked back and forth between them with his mouth in a tight line.

“Who’s the father?” Duncan asked as they all stood facing each other.

Logan standing tall besides his best friend looked him right in the eye. “I am.” He said bravely.

Veronica watched with bated breath as the angry in Duncan’s eyes intensified and turned downright murderous.

“You and Veronica…” he trailed staring at his best friend with such rage in his eyes Logan took a step back. He’d seen that look before, once when he saw Duncan go crazy the same week he and Veronica broke up.

“Tell me.” Duncan demanded his voice low and scary.

“Duncan we broke up. We’re telling you because you’re our friend and—“ Veronica began seeing the rage in her ex’s eyes.

“Friend? How can you even stand there and say that after what you two did? You completely disrespected the memory of Lilly and you totally disregarded our relationship! Not to mention the fact that you two hate each other.” Duncan exclaimed his voice a dark chill.

Veronica refused to back down though no matter how angry her ex was they had been broken up. She was not feeling guilty after feeling that way for so long. She refused to take any steps back. Baby steps forward she kept telling herself. She could do this.

“How long did you wait until after Lilly was dead to screw anyway? A day? Two days? A week?” Duncan snarled.

“Duncan, this wasn’t about Lilly or you! It happened just like Veronica said. We were sad and grieving and we looked to each other for support. It just happened!” Logan said becoming angrier at Duncan’s accusatory words.

“You keep saying it just happened! And you know what? I think you two are full of it! You’ve probably been sneaking around for months, years maybe! How long have you two been sneaking around behind our backs?” Duncan snapped pushing his friend slightly as his anger increased.

Logan looked at him incredulously as Veronica stared at him in horror. 

“Logan and I never snuck around. That isn’t fair! We’d never do anything to hurt you or Lilly! Not like the way you hurt me or—“

“The way I hurt you? I had to break up with you!” Duncan yelled making Veronica take a step back at how angry Duncan was getting. Logan moved to step in between them and Duncan looked at him amazed.

“You aren’t her boyfriend, Logan! I was! I was until my mother—“ Duncan cut himself off and buried his head in his hands.

“What happened with Celeste?” Veronica asked looking around Logan’s body that was blocking her.

Duncan ignored her and began to mutter to himself as he began to pace the length of the room again. Logan watched cautiously making sure to keep an eye on him and to block Veronica incase Duncan did something crazy.

“What happened with Celeste, Duncan?” Veronica asked again taking a step around Logan.

Logan caught her arm and she looked up at him. Their eyes met and without speaking Logan told her to be careful. 

Suddenly Duncan rushed at Logan and tackled him into the couch. The two teenagers began to yell and throw punches as Veronica stood there not knowing what to do for a moment. Suddenly she hurried over to Duncan to try and through him off Logan. Duncan was punching everything he could trying to hurt Logan as much as Logan had emotionally hurt him, but years of warding off abuse Logan knew how to dodge and shield himself. 

“Duncan! Duncan!” Veronica screamed trying to get him off, but he just threw her off as easily as a rag doll and she stumbled and fell onto her butt. 

As if gaining super human strength from seeing the pregnant girl fall Logan pushed Duncan off and punched him with all his might sending him reeling to the ground blood pouring out of his nose.

Duncan coughed and tried to hold the blood in, but it was gushing too fast and he was moaning.

“Duncan, man, I’m sorry—“ Logan said staring at Veronica on the floor and Duncan bleeding everywhere.

“That’s my sister, man. She’s my sister.” Duncan mumbled looking over at Veronica.

Veronica frowned and moved towards him. “Duncan, Lilly’s gone.”

Duncan began to rock back and forth his eyes glazing over as he continued to repeat himself. “That’s my sister. She’s my sister. My sister.” 

Logan and Veronica exchanged looks together before he took out his phone and dialed Celeste’s number. 

Celeste got there in record time and hurried in to take her son saying something about sending someone to pick up the car. When Veronica told her what Duncan had been repeating Celeste ignored her and told them not to speak of what had just happened. Once they left Veronica and Logan sat down on the carpet and tried to get Duncan’s blood out of the carpet. They didn’t speak each too shaken to talk.

“That didn’t go how I expected.” Veronica finally said trying to keep her voice light. But instead it came out sounding hollow.

“That’s the understatement of the century.” He said dryly scrubbing at the carpet.

Veronica sat back on her butt and sighed. “Why do you think he kept mumbling about Lilly?”

Logan glanced up at her slowly his brow furrowed. “I’m not sure if Lilly is who he was talking about.” He admitted.

Veronica frowned, “Then who else would it be? He said ‘she’s my sister.’ What other sister does Duncan have besides Lilly?” Veronica asked rolling her eyes.

Logan looked down at the blood on the carpet before sitting back against the couch. He let out a slow breath wondering if he should be telling Veronica this.

“I’ve seen Duncan get that angry one time before.” He began slowly his eyes darting around the living room and then back to Veronica.

“Ok…” Veronica said prompting him on.

“I’ve known Duncan a long time, you know, and I’ve never seen him like that except the once. I was over there and I heard this crash. It was weird cause once I heard the crash I heard Jake trying to calm him down. I went in there to see what was going on and Duncan was just…wild. Jake kept saying ‘she’s your sister. I’m sorry son, but she’s your sister. You have to end it.’ At first I didn’t know what he was talking about, but…then you guys broke up a few days later. I asked Lilly about it and she said that you were Jake’s illegitimate daughter.” Logan said so lowly Veronica wasn’t sure she heard the last part.

Veronica stared at him for a moment before suddenly bursting out laughing. 

“What?” Logan demanded to know.

Veronica covered her mouth to stop the laughter. The laughter was loud and uncontrollable and Logan couldn’t help, but think she’d gone a little insane.

“I’m sorry! But that’s totally impossible! How could I be Jake Kane’s daughter? My mom was completely faithful to my dad.” Veronica said between laughter.

Logan stared at her, “That’s what Lilly told me. She said her mom told her.”

“That’s because Celeste hates me! Logan, Duncan and I are not siblings I mean…” she trailed off not even wanting to finish that thought.

“Think about it though, Ronnie. It makes sense.” Logan said quietly.

Veronica shook her head vehemently. “No. No. No. It’s not—not possible! My mom loved my dad and vice versa. I’m not talking about this anymore.” She said standing up suddenly and smoothing her hair out.

“Think about it, Veronica!” Logan exclaimed standing up as well.

“And why should I believe it? What proof is there?” she snapped putting her hands on her hips.

Logan stared down at her in amazement. “Because it makes sense! Why Duncan broke up with you! Why he just acted like a complete loony-tune! Why Celeste hates you! Why—“

“No. Logan. No. It doesn’t. This isn’t happening. It’s not true. And I’m about to be sick.” She said before rushing off to the bathroom.

Logan watched her go running a hand through his hair wondering how everything had gone down hill so fast.

Veronica quickly found the bathroom and emptied the small amount of food she had eaten earlier. She wondered as she cleaned her mouth out why morning sickness was called morning sickness when she got it all of the time. It was like having the flu and it never ceasing. She made a mental note to ask her doctor about it.

When she left the bathroom she found Logan standing outside the door with a water bottle. She took it silently and went back into the living room to get her stuff.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Logan asked quietly.

Veronica shook her head gathering her stuff up. “No. I want to go home.” She said walking towards the door.

Logan blocked her path giving her a sympathetic look. “Ronnie, don’t leave we still have a lot to do for the project.”

Veronica shook her head again. “We can finish it another time. We have a few weeks yet. I just want to go home it’s been a long day.” She said moving past him and walking out the door.

Logan watched her go with a heavy heart wishing he hadn’t brought up what he had heard.

On the way home Logan’s words swirled around her head and finally as she thought more about what he had said she began to doubt herself. Could Jake Kane be her father? Was Duncan and Lilly her siblings? Was Logan right? She decided she needed a paternity test as quickly as possible. She had to know the truth, even if it was something she couldn’t bare to hear.


	9. The School

Chapter 9 The School

Veronica spent the weekend ordering a paternity test and looking up her pregnancy symptoms. She had been putting off looking into her pregnancy since that seemed to make it all the more real. The paternity test on the other hand was now in the back of her mind teasing her. It would be a few days before the kit was sent to her, but the thought of Jake Kane being her father continued to send her stomach reeling. 

The one thing she couldn’t get over was how Logan of all people knew. She wondered if Duncan hadn’t said anything if Logan would’ve told her. She wondered if she’d even want Logan to have told her. As of right now she was curious and wanting to know the truth, but on the other hand she didn’t know what she would do with the knowledge that her dad may not be her dad. She wanted to bring it up to him, but so much was going on at the current moment she didn’t want to add something else.

So she remained quiet about her discovery and instead looked up her pregnancy symptoms. The morning sickness could be worse, but her body really ached and she was tired a lot of the time. What she knew was that she was nine weeks pregnant. 

What she really wanted to know about were her hormones. She couldn’t seem to get the fact that Logan making her comfortable had actually happened. If it had been three months ago and she had realized this it wouldn’t be such a big deal because they were friends, but Logan had tormented her for months and now he was bringing her comfort. What exactly were her hormones doing to her body? 

“What are you doing?” Keith asked coming into her room to see her studiously staring at her computer. “You look like your trying to blow your computer up with your mind.” He joked.

She gave him a weak smile and shut her laptop. Keith came further into the room and sat on the bed beside her desk.

“I was just doing some work.” She said vaguely.

“Well don’t stress yourself out.” He chastised.

She smiled playfully and sat back in her chair rubbing at her lower back subconsciously. Keith noticed and gave her a sympathetic look.

“Back pains already?” he asked.

“More like every where pains.” She bemoaned.

Keith nodded, “Your mother was the same. Constant pain for months.”

Veronica huffed, “Goody. Something to look forward to once the nausea stops.”

Keith laughed, “So I have some news.” He began.

“What’s going on?” 

“We had a tip off for the murder. I’m not sure if it’s going to go anywhere, but I have deputy Lamb looking for him to bring him in.”

“Who is it?”

“A computer software programmer named Abel Koontz. We’ve searched his boat and found a pair of Lilly’s shoes.” Keith said rubbing a hand across his head.

Veronica frowned, “do you think he did it?”

Keith shrugged, “I don’t know until we question him.”

“What about the Kanes?” she asked.

“I don’t know until we question him, honey. I just wanted to let you know.” 

Veronica nodded looking away from her father the question of her paternity lingering in the back of her mind.

“So I was thinking Chinese for dinner.” Keith said changing the subject.

Veronica felt her stomach churn at the thought and she shook her head vehemently. “No. I think I’m just going to have something light. The sickness seems to be   
getting worse.”

“Well more for me then. Do you want me to come to your doctor’s appointment next week?” Keith asked.

She shook her head, “No Logan’s coming.”

Keith smirked and raised his eyebrows in shock, “Really? So Logan’s stepping up?”

“So it seems. I don’t know yet though. We still have a long way to go.” Veronica mumbled.

“Well give him a chance, I know it’s scary, but he’s going to be a parent too. He’s just as scared as you.” Keith paused wondering if he should ask the next question. 

“Has he told his parents?” he asked quietly.

Veronica shook her head, “no they’re out of town. I think they come back in a week or so then they’re going off again. We’re going to tell them soon I think. Logan’s here for the holidays. I invited him to Christmas I hope that’s ok.” She said.

Keith smirked, “that’s fine. it gives me time to grill him more.”

“Dad.” Veronica chastised.

“I can’t help it. He got my little girl pregnant. What father wouldn’t grill their daughter’s boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Veronica said quickly.

Keith frowned, “Then what is he?”

“A…a friend?” Veronica said more in a question form than a statement.

Keith stared at her incredulously. “A friend get’s you pregnant? What were you thinking Veronica?”

She looked away, “I wasn’t. It just happened and didn’t we have this conversation already? I think we did. Logan and I were a one time thing. I don’t like him or   
anything. It’s Logan.” She rambled.

Keith smiled slightly at her rambling and shook his head before getting off the bed. “Ok. Honey. Whatever you say. I’m going to go order some Chinese and you should eat soon.” 

Veronica groaned, “What’s the point I throw it up anyway.” She grumbled.

Keith laughed as he left the room, “Nutrition for the baby, Veronica. Eat something healthy.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Veronica grumbled as he left her room. She opened her laptop again and continued to work on the evidence for the Lilly Kane case. She added Abel Koontz to the list of suspects.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica had begun to dread school when she realized everyone had ostracized her after her father accused Jake Kane of murder. Now that the school may or may not know she was pregnant she was dreading it even more. She had arrived at school at her usual time and sat in her parking spot counting down from ten so she could squash her fear away and remove herself from the car. But it was like her body was frozen. She didn’t want to get out. If she had thought their vindictive behavior was bad at first she knew that finding out about her pregnancy was ten times worse.

She tried to breath and calm down, but it was just making everything worse. She was scared and she needed to man up and put those brick walls around herself. She was brave and strong and she could get through school. 

She was Veronica Mars after all.

With a heavy heart she opened the door and got her stuff out before walking towards the building. She held her head up high and didn’t bother to look at anyone who may or may not be looking at her. She didn’t care. She was strong and not going to let anyone get her down today. She repeated her mantra until she got to her locker and saw ‘Slut’ written on it. She rolled her eyes and dialed her locker combination anyway.

“Veronica Mars teen mom.” Madison mocked as she saw the little blonde at her locker.

Veronica turned to look at her with narrow eyes. “Wow Madison Sinclair class mattress. How are we this morning?” Veronica snipped back.

Madison rolled her eyes and flipped her hair a posse of 09ers standing behind her with identical disgusted expressions on their faces.

“I heard Duncan going on about finding pregnancy pamphlets in your stuff. Is it true? Is there a Mars spawn coming soon?” Madison spat trying to mask the curiosity in her tone.

Veronica smirked at her, “Well if you heard Duncan you should know the answer.” 

“So it’s Duncan’s?” she gasped making the girls behind her titter.

Veronica made a fake thinking expression and tapped a finger against her chin. “Did I say that? I don’t think so. Let me know who the father is though when you find out. It might be one of your boyfriends for all I know.” Veronica snarked before closing her locker and walking away. She smiled to herself enjoying the expression of Madison’s face. 

She didn’t walk very far until Meg hurried up to her with a sorrow filled look on her face.

“Hey Veronica.” She said touching her arm lightly.

Veronica looked over at Meg and gave her a weak smile. “Hey Meg. What’s up?” she asked moving to the side of the hallway so they could talk.

“I heard what’s going on I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk about it.” Meg said gently.

Veronica frowned, “What’s going on?”

Meg lowered her voice and leaned closer. “There’s a rumor going around that your pregnant. Is that…are you?”

Veronica looked away from Meg’s concerned face and across the hall at Logan who was talking with Dick and Beaver. As if sensing her gaze on him Logan looked and over at her giving her a slight smile.

“What are people saying?” Veronica asked turning away from Logan and focusing back on Meg.

“That your pregnant and you don’t know who the father is. Although there are a few people who think its Duncan.” She said quietly.

“How did they find out?” Veronica asked knowing full well how.

Meg shrugged, “I don’t know, but it’s all over school.” 

Just then the first bell rang signaling that everyone went to class. Meg said bye to Veronica and then hurried off. Veronica began to walk her way to Math when out of the corner of her eye Logan grabbed her by the arm and shoved her into the nearest Janitor’s closet.

“Logan!” she exclaimed turning on the light and staring up into his face.

There was worry etched on his face. “Dick told me what people are saying.” He said quietly.

Veronica nodded, “Yeah I just got the welcome wagon by Madison.” 

They paused staring at each other.

“How are you?” he asked breaking the crackling silence.

She shrugged looking down at her shoes. “Tired, cranky, sore, but I’ll live.”

“I mean about Saturday and today’s gossip?” he clarified.

Veronica bit her lip wondering if she should lie or tell him the truth. He was the only one who knew the truth at this point. “Scared I’m scared.” She blurted out.

“I’m sorry, Veronica.” He said surprisingly them both and pulling her in for a hug. She buried her face in his chest and held him as tightly as she could taking in the support that Logan was offering her. He pulled back much too soon for her and she felt empty when his arms left her. She realized that being in his arms was the first form of comfort she’d had all day. It was the only thing to quiet her mind. She frowned thinking about how messed up her hormones seemed to be.

“Thanks.” She said tucking her hair behind her ear.

“It’s no problem.” He said shuffling next to her. 

They heard the bell ring again and they both knew they needed to go, but neither of them made a move.

“I’m going to tell them.” Logan blurted out.

Veronica shook her head, “No it doesn’t make sense for you to get dragged under too. I can take it, Logan. It’s nothing I haven’t had to do before.” She said before stepping back and glancing out the door to see if the coast was clear.

“We’re in this together, Veronica I’m not going to leave you to the wild dogs of Neptune.”

“Those wild dogs are your friends. I don’t want you getting ostracized because of a mistake we made.” She said not looking at him.

“And I don’t want you being tormented because of the wild dogs.” He said.

She looked over at him and he stared down at her their eye contact was intense and Veronica felt her stomach flip flop. She looked away finally and then checked to see if the coast was clear.

“I’ll talk to you later.” She said before moving out of the closet and to her first period, which she was now late for.

She tried to ignore the slut and pregnancy jabs the rest of the morning, but by lunch she wasn’t feeling so hot. She was glad she’d found the hiding spot under the bleachers where she could eat her lunch, but when she went over there to hide she found some kids smoking a joint. Everyone looked at each other until Veronica finally up and left not wanting to be around the sticky smoke. 

She went back to the quad and found a quiet table where she was undisturbed apart from the whole being talked about thing. As she sipped her water and picked at her lunch a shadow was cast onto her. She took a deep breath before looking up at the perpetrator and saw some 09ers and Jocks standing around her table.

“Hey Slut.” One of them said as they loomed above her.

Veronica rolled her eyes at them. “Wow. Original. How many brain cells did it take for you to think of that?”

“Are you really pregnant? Or are you trying to get sympathy because of how your daddy’s going to lose his job?” Another one mocked.

Veronica bit out some laughter, “I gotta say I’m completely touched all of you came over to see if a rumor was true. Does it take ten people to ask one question or am I too scary for a bunch of big dumb jocks? You know, I think it also might be the fact that you guys want to know if it’s yours right? I keep hearing about this crazy reputation I have and I guess I’ve slept with most of you? Gosh however will I know who the child’s father is so I can hit them up for some money. So which of you lovely men is it?” she snarked glaring up at them angrily.

“That does bring up a good question. Who is the father? Do you even know? Or—“

“Leave her alone.” 

Veronica looked through the mob and saw Logan standing in the back as angry as she’d seen him Saturday when Duncan had pushed her away.

“Dude!” someone exclaimed.

“Leave her alone.” Logan said again.

The 09ers and the jocks looked at each other wondering what to do. Their king was telling them to leave her alone, but how was that possible?

“What? Do I need to draw you a diagram. I said leave so move away from her. It’s not up for argument, questions, or debates. You’re harassing her and I want you out of here.” Logan exclaimed getting louder.

The mob shuffled around and began to move from the table. Logan walked through them making sure to knock their shoulders to know he meant business. Then he stood up on Veronica’ lunch table and looked around the quad.

“That’s an open invitation by the way. Leave Veronica alone or I will get creative in ways to make your life a living hell.” He threatened loudly making the quad stiff with silence. Everyone looked at him in awe as he jumped off the table and moved to sit by Veronica who was staring at him with an unreadable expression. When the quad began to get louder again she gave him a gentle smile and went back to picking at her food.

“I’m sorry about them.” He muttered.

“You didn’t have to do that.” she said not looking up.

“I know. But I wanted to. It’s what friends do.” He said.

Veronica nodded not trusting herself to speak because of the lump that had formed in her throat. Now Logan was making her cry because of things he was doing for her, not to her. Maybe he could be trusted yet.


	10. The Hearbeat

Chapter 10 The Heartbeat

It was the week before school let out for winter break and so far people hadn’t tormented Veronica. Well at least not as much as they had in the last few months, but there were still some incidents. Even with Logan’s continuous threats. 

As a matter of fact he had gotten a three-day suspension that week because of getting in a fight with Dick of all people. In actuality it was something Madison had said about Veronica being a slut because of some reason or another. Dick had agreed after Madison threatened to not have sex with him and since Logan couldn’t threaten Madison despite the fact she deserved it he lashed out at Dick. 

Logan was still hanging out with his friends, but he did notice that not as many people wanted to talk to him and after his and Dick’s fight he figured that he wasn’t going to be invited to a New Years party anytime soon. Oddly enough he didn’t mind as much as he thought he would. 

Veronica knew she should reprimand him for getting suspended and tell him that she could take care of herself, but in reality because of the whole hormones all over the place thing she wasn’t feeling like her complete self. She started crying at the drop of a hat or got angry about something very easily. She even was beginning to notice that she was feeling weird stomach flips around Logan. Butterflies are what some people would say they were, but she refused to compare Logan and butterflies in the same sentence. All of this she related to the weirdness of her hormones and pregnancy.

If the hormones weren’t bad enough she was beginning to take note that she had to start wearing looser clothes. Her bras were uncomfortably and she had noticed her boobs getting bigger as well as her waistline. She wasn’t exactly showing, not yet, but her clothes were feeling tight and she personally felt like a whale. When she complained to her dad about it he just laughed and told her she had a long way to go.

“Honey, are you ready to go?” Keith asked as they ate breakfast that morning. It was the morning of her first official doctor’s appointment where she would learn in more detail what was going on with the baby and where all of her questions would get to be answered.

Veronica nodded setting down the oatmeal Keith had been making her eat because of the nutrients. 

“Is Logan—“ Keith began to ask, but was cut off by a knock on the door.

Veronica gave him a wary smile before getting up to answer it. Logan stepped into the apartment giving her a slight head nod before going over and shaking Keith’s hand. Since the holidays were nearing Logan had oddly become politer and not as snarky at least around Keith, which Veronica was sure amounted to the fact that Logan had gotten his daughter pregnant and wanted to avoid being shot with one of Keith’s many guns. A fact that was weird in itself since Logan and polite were like talking about walrus and chickens in the same sentence. 

“Hello, sir.” Logan said giving him a polite smile and then turning to Veronica. 

“Are you ready?” he asked his voice steady, but his body language shifting in anxiety. She didn’t blame him she felt the same way. She cast one last look at her dad who gave her an encouraging smile and then she nodded.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She said quietly before going to hug her dad and then walking towards the door with Logan. Logan said ‘goodbye’ to her dad and then they were off to the doctor’s.

Neither of them said much in the car both too nervous for the upcoming hour or two they would have to be at the doctor’s. Eventually Logan turned on the radio to drown out the silence.

“How’s suspension going?” Veronica asked trying to break the silence as the commercials came over the radio.

Logan glanced over at her and smirked. “I was wondering when you were going to reprimand me for getting in trouble.” He said softly.

“I’m not going to reprimand you, Logan…even though I should.” She admitted.

His smirk widened and he kept his eyes on the road.

“Although I think that you should ignore the comments. I know it’s hard, but they don’t bother me as much anymore and they’ll die down…eventually.” She said trying to be optimistic.

Logan sent her a yeah right look and she knew he was right. Although she didn’t want to admit it.

“I know it’s hard, really I do, but I can take care of myself. I know you like being King of Neptune but—“

“There are more important things then being King, Ronnie. I won’t lie and tell you I hate being popular, but as of right now my priority is you so if people have a problem with you or me standing up for you then without a question I’m siding with you.” he paused as they came to a stop sign and Veronica opened her mouth to begin to speak when he continued. “And it’s not because you’re pregnant either. I should’ve stood with you from the beginning.” He added so softly if he hadn’t turned the radio down she wouldn’t have heard him.

She tried to ignore the gooey hot sensation in her stomach, but she couldn’t help it. His words made her melt.

“What about Duncan, Dick and everyone else? What are you going to do when they find out? I mean minus Duncan he’s avoiding us like the black plague.” She said.

Duncan hadn’t been at school since they’d told him almost two weeks ago. She wondered if he’d told his parents. 

“Nothing. I’m going to continue to take care of you and all those guys can suck it. If they’re my real friends then they’ll still be my friends after they find out the truth.” Logan said as they pulled into the doctor’s building.

“You know I don’t need to be taken care of, right?” she insisted as they parked.

Logan looked over at her with an intensity in his eyes she had been noticing more and more as of late. She gulped wondering briefly if he was going to lean in and kiss her. Then she thought of what she would do and she realized with a drop of her stomach she’d return it. God, her hormones were messing with her brain now. 

“Keep telling yourself that Mars.” He said turning away from her and breaking the moment. He got out of the car and she followed not sure if she should try and fight him on the fact that she really didn’t need help. 

She had been looking for jobs and so far nothing was really that appealing, but she figured she’d find something. The Java Hut was hiring, but there were a lot of people that came there from school and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to spend even more time with them. Plus Carrie Bishop worked there and that itself left a bad taste in her mouth.

“So when do we find out the sex?” Logan asked as they walked towards the elevators.

“18-20 weeks.” She said pushing the button so they could go up.

“Do you want to find out?” he asked trying to be casual.

“I’m not sure. I kind of want it to be a surprise.”

“Getting pregnant at 16 on your first time wasn’t a surprise enough?” he snarked.

She huffed and stepped into the elevator. “I just thought it would be kinda fun. I mean you can find out if you want, but I’m not going to.” 

Logan shrugged knowing she was testier than usual because of her hormones. He found it amazing to watch her go from happy to sad to angry within a five-minute span. He knew it shouldn’t amuse him, but seeing her so angry always made him feel turned on. He didn’t really understand it he’d never been turned on by anger before, but with Veronica he was noticing a lot of what she did turned him on. The worst part about it was that he couldn’t do anything because they were just friends. 

They arrived at the doctor’s office and Veronica filled out some paper work before they were called in. She made him wait outside while she changed into the paper gown they gave her and after too long of a wait the doctor came in.

“Hello Veronica how are we today?” the doctor asked beginning to check her blood pressure.

“Good.” Veronica said quietly.

“And who did we bring with us?” the doctor asked looking over at Logan awkwardly standing in the corner.

“The father.” Logan said shuffling and looking everywhere but at Veronica who was in the stirrups.

Veronica looked over at Logan and swore he was blushing as he stared at the ceiling. She bit her lip to keep from giggling. The doctor looked her over to make sure everything was as it should be. Her blood pressure was a little high, but that could be from stress. He asked about her diet, exercise, and any changes she noticed occurring. He also wrote her a prescription for prenatal vitamins so keep her healthy.

“My dad’s been the one to dictate my diet honestly, but most things I can’t keep fully down. Does that get better?” she asked anxiously.

“Yes once you get out of the first trimester it should die down. I know it’s hard now, but it does get better. On the other hand you have heartburn, constant urination, constipation, and back pains among other not so fun things to look forward to.” He said delicately.

“I also want you exercising to keep yourself healthy. Not too much, but just enough say thirty minutes to an hour a day. That can be walking or swimming anything that’s not lifting or high stress.” The doctor continued.

“Also I want you to take the vitamins I’m prescribing to keep you and the baby healthy. Most importantly eat right, take care of yourself, and remember that the time goes quickly. Currently you’re at 10 going on 11 weeks. You’re going to start to show soon and you’ll be going into your second trimester in a few weeks so you can even start telling people once you’re ready. Do you have any questions for me?” the doctor asked looking at the two parents.

“Do we get to see the baby today?” Logan asked breaking his silence.

The doctor nodded, “Once we’re done with all of the questions, check ins, etc I can have a technician come in and you can see and hear the baby.” He said.

“Will my hormones be crazy the entire time?” Veronica blurted out shifting awkwardly around.

The doctor gave her a sympathetic look, “It actually gets more intense. You become more hormonal and your sexual appetite increases.” He said looking between the two. The doctor looked away trying not to laugh when he saw the teens turn scarlet at his comment.

“Anything else?” he asked.

They shook their heads.

“Ok make an appointment when you leave and remember to get your vitamins. Here’s a list of things you shouldn’t do and here’s a list of foods you shouldn’t eat. If you have any questions call me and we’ll see you in a month. Also I recommend getting some baby books to prepare yourselves.” He said giving the papers to Logan and then leaving the office.

Veronica and Logan shared a look before getting interrupted by the technician coming in.

“Good morning!” she chirped getting her tools ready.

“Would you like a movie and a picture of the baby? Possibly several for family members?” she asked looking between the two.

“A movie would be great!” Logan exclaimed shocking Veronica. She looked over at him startled and he gave her a smirk.

“Two pictures would be nice.” She added.

“Great lets get started!” the technician chirped.

Veronica and Logan watched as she set everything up and then put a cold gel on Veronica. Once she was set up she switched the monitor on and a loud noise filled the room. Instantly Veronica felt tears well in her eyes and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Logan with an identical look to her own as they stared at the screen and the noise of the heartbeat filled the room. Without realizing it Veronica took the hand on her shoulder and curled it into her own wanting to feel Logan’s skin on hers. She held his hand tightly as the technician began to explain the different parts they were seeing and how in a few short weeks they’d be able to tell the sex.

“He or she is about as big as a kumquat.” She said offering Veronica a tissue.

She nodded her throat too clogged up to say anything.

“He or she is developing slowly but surely. He or she can bend their limps and they’re growing fingernails. It’s pretty exciting.” She exclaimed.

Veronica nodded her hand tightening in Logan’s and then much to her surprise Logan leaned down and kissed her gently on the top of her head. If her heart hadn’t melted already at the sight of their child it would’ve melted at Logan’s sweet gesture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the appointment Veronica went over to Logan’s and they re-watched the movie of the baby. Logan couldn’t get over how amazing it was to see the child and to hear it all growing inside of Veronica. He had never been a particularly emotional person, but seeing such a tiny human thing growing in Veronica was possibly the most amazing thing he’d ever witnessed. He knew in that instant as they stood in the doctor’s office he never wanted anything to happen to that child. He wouldn’t be how his father was to him. Granted he had never wanted children because he was afraid he’d turn in to his father, but when he saw that image on that screen he knew he could never let any harm come to the baby. 

He loved the child already and he’d protect it with everything he had until he died. He wouldn’t be his father, he told himself. The baby was a part of Veronica and a part of him how could anyone hurt a child like that? He vowed he’d never hurt that child and he wouldn’t be his father. He kept repeating the mantra as they watched the video again. 

Part of him wanted to tell Veronica his worries, but then again that would bring up the fact that he had been abused most of his life and that was something he didn’t want Veronica to know. He didn’t want to see that look that people gave him when they knew and the worst part of all was he didn’t want her to accept it like everyone else had. 

“This is so amazing.” She breathed as the video came to an end. She held her picture tightly in her hands tears coming back into her eyes.

Logan smiled at her enjoying the image of such a vulnerable Veronica, something that was rarely seen anymore.

“What do you want it to be?” he asked laying down on his bed.

She shrugged moving off the floor to lay beside him. “I don’t care as long as it’s healthy and happy.” She said looking over at him.

Logan smiled slightly. “I hope it’s a girl.” He said rolling on to his side and propping his head up with his hand.

“Why do you want a girl?” she asked laughing.

“I figured you’d want a boy to surf with and to mock me with.” She teased.

Logan smiled sadly and shrugged moving back onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

“I just think it would be fun to have a girl. Obviously she’d never date anyone I’d be like your dad, but a small version of you would be…nice.” He said glancing over at her to see her reaction.

The tears had gathered in her eyes again and before he knew it she had curled herself into his side and was crying into his shirt.

“Y-you…a-amazing…b-baby…f-f-father….” She cried into his shirt most of her words muffled.

Logan smiled and wrapped his arms around her small frame and pulling her into him as close as possible. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes trying to get a hold of her emotions.

“Are you ok?” he asked rubbing her back soothingly.

“I will be.” She whispered.

“You weren’t kidding about those hormones.” He joked.

She laughed softly. “It’s annoying. One minute I’m fine then the next you say something or someone else says something to make me a blubbering mess. I have to get a hold of myself especially if I need to get a job.” She said quietly. 

Logan looked down at her with a frown. “A job? Why?” he asked curiously.

“Money, idiot.” She grumbled into his shirt. Her eyes were still closed and she was enjoying his arms around her more than she’d admit. His presence comforted her in a way she was unaware of ever feeling before. Granted her dad comforted her, but it was a different kind. Logan made her feel like there was a bubble around them and nothing bad would happen. He made her feel safe, warm, and cared for. 

“What kind of job?” he asked curiously.

She shrugged, “I don’t know…I looked in the paper and there’s nothing I’m really good at. Java hut is the only thing that looked worthwhile, but kill me if I have to be pregnant and deal with those losers at school. Plus I don’t want to be on my feet all day.” She bemoaned.

Logan chuckled and pulled her closer enjoying the warmth she gave off. “What about some detective work?” he asked out of the blue.

“What do you mean?” she asked moving away slightly so she could look up at him.

Logan shrugged, “I mean you’ve always been good at figuring out the bad guy I think it’s cause your dad’s the Sheriff, but this kid’s computer was stolen in my bio class. He’s been complaining about it, I bet you could get it back.” Logan said thoughtfully.

Veronica stared at him for a moment contemplating the idea. “What’s his name?”

Logan filled her in with the details and after turning the idea over in her head again she agreed to talk to him on Friday about it.

“You think you can find it in one day?” he asked amused. 

She shrugged, “I don’t know, I’ll try. I mean I’ve done some detective work and I’ve helped out at the station, but I’ve never really done anything like this. It beats making coffee, though and sounds more exciting.” She said thinking of the money she could earn. She also made sure to leave out her own personal investigation she was doing on Lilly’s murder. She didn’t want Logan knowing about that. It was true she hadn’t done much detective work until Lilly had died and she had put time into finding out who killed her because of saving her father’s job as well as clearing her own conscious. But she figured she was good at it and she was smart so how hard could it be to find some kid’s computer. The question that really bothered her was why hadn’t she thought of that first?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Logan!” Aaron called up the stairs when he and Lynn returned a little after three. They had been gone a few weeks doing publicity for his new movie. He expected to see Logan when he got home since he saw his son’s car in the driveway. 

“Logan!” Aaron shouted again grumbling when he realized he’d have to go upstairs and find his son. He left Lynn to unpack and angrily walked up the stairs to find his son. He burst into Logan’s room and looked in surprise at the little blonde curled around his son.

“Dad?” Logan rasped rubbing his eyes.

Aaron felt the angry dissipate for a moment when he saw they’d been sleeping. Logan uncurled Veronica from around him and he stood up. 

“We’re home son.” Aaron said walking over to him and pulling him in for a rough hug. His voice roused Veronica from sleep and she sat up quickly taking note that the famous Aaron Echolls was looming above her.

“Hi Mr. Echolls.” She said giving him a friendly tired smile.

“Veronica.” Aaron said giving her a smile before looking at the TV where the frozen image of the baby was.

Aaron stared at the image for a moment not quite sure what he was seeing. Logan and Veronica shared a look not knowing what to say or do until Aaron turned back around and gave them a stiff smile.

“What’s going on?” he asked looking at the TV then the couple.

“Nothing.” Logan blurted out.

“What are you watching?” Aaron asked his voice getting lower and lower.

Logan looked over at Veronica who was unsure of what to do.

“It’s uh…a—“ Logan stuttered, but was cut off by his mother entering his room.

“Logan! There you are! And Veronica! How nice to see you.” Lynn gushed coming over to hug her son and then Veronica.

Aaron continued to stare at Logan with an unreadable expression on his face and Logan looked everywhere, but at his father.

“Logan has something to tell us.” Aaron said his voice dangerously low.

Veronica shivered and she slid off the bed. With a deep breath she blurted the truth out. “I’m pregnant.” She said looking between both of Logan’s parents.

They stared at her in shock and then turned to look at Logan who nodded watching his dad particularly to see his reaction.

“Pregnant?” Aaron mumbled.

“And it’s Logan’s?” Lynn asked staring at her son.

Veronica nodded slightly watching as tears welled up in Lynn’s eyes.

“Oh, Logan!” she said shaking her head before hugging her son again. Veronica watched the scene unfold not noticing the look in Aaron’s eyes.

“How could you be so stupid?” Aaron asked incredulously. “Didn’t you use protection? Do you know what this means? What about my image? How is the public going to see me, Logan?” he exclaimed his voice rising steadily.

Veronica stared at him in horror for a moment before speaking up. “It’s not just his fault, Mr. Echolls!” she exclaimed.

“No I’m sure it’s mostly your fault for seducing my son! ” he yelled finally snapped.

Logan moved forward angrily not wanting his father to take out his anger on Veronica. “Don’t yell at her!” he shouted knowing that he was going to pay for this later, but for now all he could think about was Veronica and keeping her and the baby safe.

“Logan why don’t you take Veronica home and then we can talk about this.” Lynn said quietly.

Logan nodded and took Veronica’s hand before leading her out of his room and away from the chaos of his family. He knew when he got home he’d pay, but for right now he wanted to enjoy the last few remaining moments he had with her before his father made him learn his lesson. 

As they left the house Veronica swore she heard something crash upstairs. She realized as they got into his car and he began to drive her home that she didn’t want to leave him she had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

“You’ll call me when you’re done talking to your parents?” she asked anxiously.

Logan nodded stiffly and tried to concentrate on the road, but Veronica’s worried eyes were gazing at him as if she knew something bad was going to happen.   
Logan knew Aaron wasn’t going to talk about the fact he was going to be a father when he got home. When he returned home he knew that he’d have to go pick a belt out like he’d learned to do since age five and get the beating his father thought he deserved, but he didn’t want to tell Veronica that.

“Let’s take the long way.” He mumbled taking his hand off the wheel and reaching out for her. She gripped it tightly much the same way she’d done in the doctor’s office.


	11. The Truth

Chapter 11 The Truth

Veronica was worried at eleven when Logan didn’t call. She kept telling herself not to worry, but she was. She felt like something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones. How could she not be when he had dropped her off at four and he hadn’t called even though it had been six hours. No way did they talk for six hours about the pregnancy. 

She also found it a bit odd that neither of his parents wanted to talk to her even though she was just as responsible as he was. She didn’t know what to think of the entire situation so instead she tried to burry herself in working on the Lilly Kane case or doing some homework. Whatever she did though kept coming back to Logan and how he still hadn’t called.

She had seen the look on his face when she’d gotten out of the car. She knew something was wrong, but that didn’t mean she could go over to his house so late and demand to see him. She wasn’t his girlfriend she didn’t have the authority to do that. She let her mind wander for a moment wondering what it would be like to be his girlfriend. Words Lilly said came back to her about how he was protective, jealous, and way too intense. Veronica found him intense, but she didn’t necessarily mind. The way he looked at her sometimes made her blush and her stomach turn warm and fuzzy. Besides for being protective with Duncan and his dad both of, which were warranted she also didn’t really mind. The jealousy though she’d only seen with Lilly. She could never imagine Logan becoming jealous of her and someone else. They were after all only friends.

She fell asleep eventually holding her cell phone in her hand waiting for his call.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica knew she wouldn’t see Logan the next day at school since it was his last day of suspension so she got his homework for him and then went to ask the missing computer kid about his missing electronics. 

She surprisingly found the computer all in one day and she was feeling pretty proud of herself. She was two hundred dollars richer and she felt better than she had in awhile. Some gang member had taken it from the poor kid and after some finagling she managed to get it back and threaten the gang member, which felt pretty damn good. She got to take her anger out on someone so why not the person who stole the dweeby kid’s electronic? 

The day was long for her and by the time school let out she was angry enough to go see Logan. It probably helped that she got to threaten someone today.  
When she got over to his mansion she put in the gate code and then parked next to his jackass yellow Xterra. She tried to go into the house with an open mind as to why he hadn’t been answering her calls or texts, but frankly she was way too pissed off and hormonal. She just kept thinking of how he’d done the exact same thing after they had sex. She was not going to allow him to do that again, especially because of the situation they were in and the progress towards friendship they’d made.  
She got to the front door and was about to knock when Lynn came to answer the door. She looked as if she was on her way out. She spotted Veronica and paused.

“Veronica, honey how are you?” Lynn asked putting a hand on Veronica’s shoulder.

“I’m fine. I’m here to see Logan.” Veronica said noticing that the other woman was avoiding her gaze.

“Logan…honey he isn’t feeling too well, maybe you should come back in a few days.” Lynn said moving past Veronica and towards the red convertible she drove. Veronica watched as Lynn stumbled into the car and started it with some trouble. With a frown Veronica wondered why Logan’s mom was acting so weird. If she didn’t want her to see her son then why did she just drive off? And if that wasn’t weird enough why was she driving so terribly? 

Suddenly as if a light bulb went off in her head Veronica thought of her own mother and was saddened to compare Lynn’s behavior to that. Lynn reminded her of her own mother and that fact alone made the anger deflate from Veronica and be replaced with misery. Damn hormones. 

Despite Lynn’s warning Veronica went into the house anyway and towards Logan’s room. She was unnerved by the silence having gotten used to the hustle and bustle with all of the servants who seemed to work around the clock. But today no one was in sight, much like the morning she had snuck out of there after having slept with Logan.

When she got to Logan’s door she knocked politely reminded of the last time she’d been in this position when Lilly had died. When she got no response she pushed the door open and was met with a grisly sight. She gasped and put a hand to her mouth choking back a sob.

Logan lay flat on his stomach with his shirt off. His one eye was swollen shut and the other side of his face was a huge bruise. The skin she could see of his back was a dark crimson with dried blood. She felt her heart ache for the man laying helpless on the bed and she moved towards him as if in a fog. When she got to him she stared at the damage of his back with anguish in her eyes seeing how deep the cuts ran and how bloody they were. She couldn’t tell if he was awake or not because of how swollen his eyes were so she quietly left to go into his attached bathroom and found the first aid kit, a bowl of water, and a washcloth. Then she went back to him and began to gently clean the wounds on his back starting from the bottom and working her way to the top. 

When she had begun to clean the second wound she noticed he stiffened and a hand came out to catch her leg that was curled near his side.

“Ronnie.” He rasped turned his head to look at her.

She felt tears well up in her eyes as one eye stared up at her the other one two swollen to open.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she dipped the washcloth back in the bowl of water and moved back to his skin.

“Cleaning.” She said shortly.

“Why?”

“Because you’re all bloody.” 

“I can fix myself, you know. I don’t need your help.” He snapped harsher than he meant to.

She paused in her actions and looked down at him with hard eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

He closed his one eye and let off a soft sigh. “How did you figure it out?” he asked ignoring her question.

“I had a bad feeling when you dropped me off last night and then I ran into your mom on my way inside. She said you weren’t feeling well. Plus the look your dad was  
giving us I just…I put everything together after I thought about it for a few minutes. The way you used to act when we’d go swimming at the pool or beach or the weird accidents you always seemed to get into. It all adds up.” She whispered as she went back to cleaning his back.

“So why didn’t you ever tell me?” she asked again.

He stared at her not knowing how to put into words what he really wanted to say. Never before had anyone cleaned his wounds for him. He just kind of took a shower and tried to patch himself up the best he could. His mother generally ignored it as did the servants and Lilly had never asked where the odd scares and gashes had come from. He had simply thought no one cared or if they knew they just accepted it since the Great Aaron Echolls could do anything he damn well pleased even if that was abusing his only son.

“I didn’t think you’d care.” Logan finally rasped out.

Veronica bit her lip to stop her tears from flowing, but it was no use they rolled down her face. Without knowing what he was doing he lifted his hand gently and  
brought it to her cheek to wipe her tears away.

“It’s ok, Ronnie. Don’t cry.” He said softly.

“How can I not! Look at you! Your dad did this! I care about you a lot even when we weren’t friends and you tell me I don’t care! If you would’ve told me I would’ve done everything in my power to bring your dad down. Logan, don’t you ever say I don’t care again or I will make sure this is the last child you have.” Veronica cried ignoring the tears rolling down her face.

“Ronnie…” Logan trailed off not knowing what to say. If her cleaning his wounds hadn’t touched his heart then her words surely did. 

“I care, Logan. I’ve always cared so don’t you ever think differently.” She exclaimed before going back to cleaning his wounds.

“Ok.” He said simply.

“Your dad did this Logan. I can’t believe this. We have to do something, you know that right?” She murmured. 

Logan smiled slightly amazed that she just wasn’t accepting the damage and moving on. She wanted to fight. She wanted to fight for him.

“What can we do?” Logan asked not really expecting an answer.

Veronica paused in thought, “I don’t know, but we’ll think of something.”

“I don’t want this getting out, Ronnie. I don’t want anyone to know.” He said quietly.

Veronica nodded going back to her job. “Did Lilly know?” she blurted out.

Logan smiled viciously, “I think so. She just never asked about it.” He said simply.

“Do you wish she had?” Veronica whispered.

Logan thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No. She would’ve seen me as weak.”

“I don’t think that Logan. I think you’re an idiot for not telling anyone, but you aren’t weak. You’re anything, but weak.” She said softly.

Logan gave her a shy smile, “I did tell someone once.” He admitted in a low voice.

“What happened?” 

“They didn’t believe me.” He confessed in the same tone.

Veronica felt her heart clench for the man before her and she felt the sudden urge to kiss him wanting to make all of his pain go away. He shouldn’t have to deal with this and if she could wish anything right now it would be harm to Aaron for making his son feel this way.

“Well I believe you.” she said her voice raspy from the tears she couldn’t help but cry.

He smiled softly up at her and touched her leg again lightly before closing his eyes letting Veronica continue to patch him up. Just as he was about to drift off he felt her lean down and kiss him on every cut, gash and bruise before finishing her repairs and putting a light blanket on him so he could be warm as he slept. 

He felt cared for, for the first time in years. Not since his mother had tried to patch him up when he was six after one of his dad’s violent outburst. She never did that again after what Aaron did to her and from then on Logan was by himself. Until now. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica went home with her mind feeling like it was about to explode. She wasn’t sure if she should tell her father or not about Logan despite the fact she really wanted to she knew it was Logan’s business. Even though she wanted to help him and make sure his dad never hurt him again she knew it had to be Logan’s decision, but that didn’t mean she would stand by and do nothing. She needed a plan to make sure Aaron Echolls never touched Logan again she just needed to figure out what to do. She also needed Logan’s cooperation and once he was healed she was going to see if she could get some more ideas about the situation and try and fix it.  
If she couldn’t save Lilly then she sure as hell was going to save Logan. 

When Veronica got home she was surprised to find her dad sitting at the table and drinking a beer. She frowned wondering why he was home so early and why he was drinking a beer of all things. After watching her mother neither of them really touched alcohol.

“Honey…” Keith started tiredly.

Veronica went over to him and gave him a tight hug happy that she had at least one parent she could talk to. Logan had none.

“Where’ve you been?” he asked as she went to the fridge to grab a water and some vegetables for a snack. 

“I went over to Logan’s.” she said cutting some celery and carrots up before sitting across from him.

“How’s Logan doing?” Keith asked absentmindedly.

Veronica bit her lip not wanting to let out the truth. She wanted to wait for Logan so they could tell her dad together and maybe then they could figure out what to do,  
but she’d also known Logan long enough to know that he wouldn’t open up so easily. She just had to talk to him and go from there.

“He’s fine. I let him keep the video of the baby.” She said grinning softly.

Keith smiled and took a sip from his beer. “Next time you go get me a picture. I want to show off my grandchild.” He said.

Veronica nodded and took a bite of carrot. 

“I have some news about the case.” Keith started his voice going business like and withdrawn, something Veronica knew to be bad.

“What happened?” she asked trying to ready herself for whatever her father needed to tell her.

“Abel Koontz confessed.” Keith said quietly.

Veronica set down her carrots and stared at him in confusion. “Lilly didn’t know this man though! Why would he kill her?”

Keith sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. “Veronica…I don’t want you to repeat this, but I’m pretty sure that someone paid Koontz off.”

Veronica sat back in her chair feeling dazed. “Do you still think Jake did it?”

Keith nodded.

“Then why are you letting an innocent man go to jail?” she asked angrily.

“Because I have a pregnant teenage daughter and if I don’t stop going after Jake Kane they’re going to remove me from office! I wouldn’t have a job, we’d have to move and right now my priority is you so if a dying man is going away to prison for a crime he didn’t commit then…” he trailed off angrily.

“Dad you can’t let Koontz go to jail! He didn’t do it! We both know he didn’t do it. I know you’re trying to save your job, but you’ve always taught me justice! What your doing is—“

“I know, Veronica, I know. I’m not going to stop looking for Lilly’s killer, but right now I have to let them think they’ve won. My priority is keeping a roof over our heads and you safe. Already this entire situation has gotten out of control and if I keep pushing I’m not going to have a job and then what? How will we survive?” Keith exclaimed.

“But this isn’t right! He’s innocent! He’s going to do to death row you know that! How can you just let him—“

“Please, Veronica understand I’m doing this for your own good. We just have to find another way to find Lilly’s killer.” Keith said trying to remain calm.

Veronica opened her mouth, but paused when she heard ‘we.’ “What do you mean, we?” she asked narrowing her eyes at him.

“I found some questionable things in your room.” Keith said giving her a meaningful look. Veronica flushed and looked away angrily.

“You shouldn’t snoop.”

“And you shouldn’t steal.”

The two stared at each other before Veronica finally looked away. “You know this isn’t right.” She said eventually.

“I know, but I don’t know any other way to keep my job and a roof over our heads. We won’t stop until we find her killer, Veronica, trust me on that.”  
Veronica nodded still feeling slightly angry about what her dad had just told her, but she knew she could trust her dad he wouldn’t hide anything from her so she knew that when he said they’d get Lilly’s killer they would indeed find the person responsible for killing her best friend.

That didn’t necessarily make Veronica feel any better, in fact some how she felt like they were giving up. She fell asleep eventually the Homecoming movie from September playing on her computer. Sometimes she wished things could go back to how they were when everything was much simpler. Veronica was glad when Backup came into her room to cuddle with her, she really needed some love right now although she wished it was someone else instead of her dog.


	12. The Eve

Chapter 12 The Eve

It was Christmas Eve and Veronica was attempting to cook as best as she could although the smells of the food were making her stomach turn and every time she tried to touch the ham she ran to the bathroom to get sick. It was strange what pregnancy was doing to her and she hoped that the sickness thing would get easier, but so far she’d just noticed she craved salty and sweet things together and seemed to be unable to cook without vomiting at least once. What she concluded about the whole situation was that pregnancy was weird.

She had been out of school for almost a week now and she couldn’t help, but wish she never had to go back. It was nice and peaceful allowed her the calm she so desperately wanted. It also allowed her time to plan about what to do with Aaron Echolls and how to find the real killer of Lilly. She threw in some homework to mix everything up and researched more pregnancy stuff. Although she was starting to think she needed to buy some books to fully grasp the life changing events she was undergoing. She also created a website for the little investigating business she was planning on starting. It wasn’t going to be anything major just for people who’d lost stuff or wanted dirt on their parents or had gotten into trouble and needed to prove their innocence. It was some extra cash that she needed and allowed her to do something she enjoyed. She already had a client one Wallace Fennel who had gotten on the wrong side of the PCHers.

She had stopped inside the Sac-N-Pac for some snacks while she shopped for presents the day after winter break started and saw the PCHers harassing the poor kid. She took pity on him and asked if she could help in any way. It turned out she could. 

“What exactly happened?” Veronica had asked as he took his break and sat in her car.

Wallace began to tell his story of how he’d been working late when some of those guys had come in and took some alcohol. They thought they were being cute when they left a dollar.

“I pressed the silent alarm.” Wallace admitted.

“And then what happened?” Veronica asked curiously as she chewed on some gummy bears dipped in Nutella and put them between two chips to make a chocolate gummy bear chip sandwich. Wallace watched for a moment incredulously not knowing if he should comment on her weird choice of food combinations. 

“They saw me press the button, I guess I wasn’t being subtle enough for them.” Wallace mumbled rubbing his face absentmindedly.

“Is that how you got that?” she asked nodding to the bruise on his cheek.

He nodded looking away as she ate another chip gummy bear chocolate sandwich.

“What happened after they beat you up?” she asked.

“The police came.”

“We have a Sheriff’s department not the police.” She corrected. “Who was it?” she added.

“Some guy named Deputy Lamb. He took the tape of them in the store and since then they’ve been out to get me, like today.” He said quietly.

She gave him a sympathetic look. “Just be glad we don’t have school. They’d tie you to the flagpole.” She said smiling slightly when he looked at her aghast.

“It’s ok, I’ll figure something out, but for now I’d stay clear of the PCHers.” She warned.

“You got that right.” Wallace said rolling his eyes.

“After Christmas come to my house I’ll have a plan by then. Until then stay gold Ponyboy.” She said smiling at him and then starting the car so she could continue her shopping. She was really starting to like this whole detective thing. It made her feel needed and in charge something she’d never really felt before. Lilly was always in charge when they were friends. She always followed, but never lead. This time it was her turn.

Shaking herself out of her memories Veronica came back to the present of trying to cook a ham although she wasn’t sure how since every time she open the refrigerator to get it out she rushed to the bathroom to get sick. She’d also never cooked a ham before so she had no idea what she was doing, which added to the problem. The cooking part was generally left up to her dad, but he had some last minute work he had to take care of so she was left to make the meal. Albeit she wasn’t sure if it was actually edible she figured if it wasn’t then they could grab Chinese. 

She tried to ignore the heaviness in her heart at the prospect of spending yet another holiday without her mom, but she was excited for the new traditions they could start. She was trying to look forward to the possibility of new traditions at least. She had found a cute heart shaped ornament at one of the various stores she’d been in, in the last few days for last minute shopping. She stuck her ultrasound picture inside of it and stared at it for a few minutes thinking of how this time next year her child would be six or so months old. 

That thought scared her a bit so instead she focused on putting a cute reindeer hate on Backup and putting the finishing touches on the tree.

Since they lived in southern California Christmas trees were hard to come by so her dad had bought a small fake tree and set it up in the corner. Veronica had spent that Saturday decorating the house and the tree. She was pretty proud of herself since the only time she broke down was when she was hanging stockings on the mantel and she came across Lianne’s. 

Now it was the day before Christmas and as she trudged through the dinner she was working on she heard the doorbell ring. She looked over at the clock confused wondering who could be ringing the doorbell so early. She had told Logan 5 and it was only 2. She opened the door and was greeted with Logan standing there looking sheepish.

His bruises were healing slowly, but surely and they had turned a nasty purple color, but at least he could open both of his eyes. She hadn’t seen him for a few days, but they’d been talking on the phone and he was always in her thoughts.

She was embarrassed to admit that she’d had a pretty steamy R-rated dream about him the night before. They had been doing naughty things in his pool house and when she woke up she was too hot and bothered to go back to sleep.

When she answered the door her dream came back to her in full force and she blushed at the very naughty thoughts cruising through her mind.

“Logan!” she said loudly.

“Hey.” He said and smiled at her noting the red tint to her cheeks. He stepped inside and gave her a hug before holding up a bag filled with presents.

“You’re early.” She noted as he set the presents under the tree. In his other hand he had an over night bag since she suggested he stay the night and in the morning they’d open presents. She didn’t want him to be alone on Christmas through any of it. She was even debating asking if he wanted to stay Christmas night too. Now that she knew what was going on she kind of never wanted him to leave. Solely because of the fact that Aaron was evil nothing else of course or so she told herself.

“Yeah, sorry. I sent all the staff home and the house was too quiet so I figured I’d come help out.” He said.

She grinned at him and scooted over in the kitchen. “Well I’m attempted this meal so if its terrible I vote Chinese.” She said stirring the gravy then hurrying over to steam the vegetables.

“What can I help with?” he asked looking around at the various dishes.

She looked around at the pots and pans not sure where he could start. Her first thought was the ham, but she didn’t know if she should be in the room if he began to touch and cook it. She wasn’t sure if she’d get sick again and so far she’d avoided getting sick around Logan something she didn’t want to experience. “Did you bring dessert?” she asked hopefully.

He snapped his fingers a slight blush creeping up his neck. “I’ll be right back.” He said before going back to his car to retrieve the pecan pie he made. He knew it was Keith’s favorite and Veronica would eat anything with sugar in it. So he figured it was a win-win and maybe he was trying to suck up to Keith as well.

Once he’d brought the pie in and set it to the side with the other already made dishes he asked again what he could help with. A funny look passed her face and he waited for her to continue.

“The ham.” She mumbled eventually.

He smirked, “Ok. Where is it?” he asked looking around as if it would pop up somewhere.

She fidgeted and set down the spoon she was stirring with. “Ok…so the thing is…I can’t touch it and I’m not sure how it’s going to be once you begin to cook it.” She admitted embarrassed.

His smirk widened, “What’s wrong with ham?” 

She scoffed and then whined, “I don’t know, but touching it has been making me sick.”

“I hope this doesn’t mean our kid’s a vegetarian.” Logan snarked.

“I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s like whenever I touch it I get sick. It’s annoying and I’m not trying to get sick anymore. It’s happened too many times today with the varying smells.” She admitted in the same whiney voice. She began to pout and Logan’s smirk widened at the image. He was overcome with the urge to lean forward and kiss her pout away or at least nibble on the jetting lower lip.

Logan shook his head trying to get images of what he could do to a naked Veronica out of his mind. “Why didn’t you call me sooner then? I could’ve made the dinner you know.” He said.

She laughed softly, “Until, like a few weeks ago I didn’t even know you could cook.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Ronnie.” Logan pointed out quietly.

“But there are also a lot of things I do.” She countered. 

They stared at each other for a long moment until Logan moved forward and took the spoon out of her hand. “How about I finish this? I’ll let you know when I’m cooking the ham so you can walk Backup.” He said giving her a gentle smile.

She nodded and let him take the spoon because honestly she was tired of cooking. She watched him get to work and then went to go get some of her own work to do in the kitchen so they could enjoy each other’s company. Neither of them said much throughout the afternoon each too caught up in their work. Logan with the food he was cooking and Veronica with Wallace and Lilly’s cases. When Logan told her that he was about to prep and cook the ham Veronica took Backup for a walk making sure to put her laptop back in her room so Logan wouldn’t see what she was working on.

She got home an hour later noting that her dad’s car was in the driveway. She shuddered to think about how long that had been there and what kind of state Logan was in being alone with her dad.

“Howdy boys.” She greeted walking into the house and letting Backup off his leash.

“Hey honey.” Keith said coming over to hug his daughter. 

“I noticed you guys didn’t kill each other.” She said looking between Logan and her dad. Logan was still in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. 

“Not yet.” Logan called sharing a look with Keith.

Keith smirked thinking about how well his threats had gone over with Logan. When he’d found him in the house sans Veronica he figured it was a perfect time to tell Logan that if he ever hurt his little girl or his grandchild he’d get up close and personal with his gun collection. Interestingly enough Logan took it all in good nature not questioning the threats in the least. Keith knew that they weren’t dating, but he also knew that if they ever did the threat would still be valid. Keith also knew that Logan was in a world of change when the baby did come and if he wanted to leave he should know Keith would be waiting with said gun collection.

Keith also asked what had happened to Logan’s face after the threats were over. He noticed how Logan stiffened up when he asked about them and changed the subject. Keith made a mental note to ask Veronica what was going on especially since Logan gave him some bullshit answer as to what had happened.

“Good.” She said looking between the two suspiciously.

“How about we set the table and get ready to chow down. This day has been too long.” Keith said sitting tiredly down at the table. Veronica nodded and got out three of everything before setting the table. She began to bring over the finished dishes and once the ham was done they sat down to dinner.

“Does anyone want to say anything?” Keith asked as they sat at the table and looked at the delicious food in front of them.

“Dig in?” Veronica snarked.

Keith gave her a look and she huffed looking over at Logan who was oddly quiet. 

“Thank you for this meal and please keep everyone safe and healthy.” Keith began. 

“Thank you for cooking Logan. Thank you for being an amazing father, dad. And baby please allow mommy to keep this delicious looking dinner down.” Veronica said smiling.

“Thank you for having me over I really appreciate it.” Logan said quietly.

“It’s no problem, Logan. As much as I don’t appreciate you getting my daughter pregnant you’re still welcome in this house.” Keith said beginning to cut the ham.

Veronica shared a look with Logan before they both began to help themselves to food. Dinner was filled with enjoyable conversation and stories of the past before everyone was finally full and unable to move.

Once dinner was done they ate the pie Logan made in front of the TV as they watch Christmas specials. Keith was the first one to call it a night and warned the other two that there would be no gift opening until the following morning. 

“Did you enjoy dinner?” Logan asked as Veronica stretched her petite body on the couch. He was in the armchair and tried very hard not to notice the way her shirt slide down as she wiggled around the couch. He couldn’t help, but notice her boobs were becoming bigger and she was beginning to show a bit. It was pretty subtle baggy shirts had hidden it until the last few days and then suddenly the bump kind of appeared and had no intention of leaving. He found it adorable and if Veronica didn’t already turn him on the knowledge that she was pregnant with his kid was doing it for him. 

“It was really good. I don’t know why you kept cooking a secret.” She mumbled tiredly her eyes focused on how the Grinch Stole Christmas.

“I didn’t you just never asked.” He pointed out getting off the couch and coming to sit by her feet. He lifted her legs up and put her feet back in his lap on the pretense that the view from the couch was better from the armchair. In reality he just wanted to be near her, but he’d never admit it.

Veronica smiled slightly enjoying being close with him after so much distance had come between them.

“So I was thinking I could give you one of your presents now.” Logan mumbled sounding embarrassed.

Veronica eyed him curiously. “Are you sure? You’re slowly getting on my dad’s good side I don’t want you falling right back to where you were before.” She warned in a slight joking tone.

Logan looked over at her with a smirk, “I think I can handle it.” He said fidgeting in his seat.

Veronica sat up sensing that he was nervous and wanted to put him at ease. She put a gentle hand on his own to calm him down and instantly Logan felt better. He looked into her cerulean blue eyes and took a deep breath before getting up and going for the light jacket he’d worn over.

She watched with baited breath as he produced a wrapped card deck sized black box. He came to sit down beside her and pushed it into her hands. He watched her anxiously as she gave him a nervous smile and he began to run his hand through the side of his hair. He looked everywhere, but at her not wanting to see her reaction when she opened it, but right as he heard the box being opened he couldn’t resist and he looked. He watched as her eyes widened in surprise and she let out a little gasp before launching herself at him.

“Where did you find it?” she asked amazed.

He chuckled shyly and continued to run his hand through his hair. “I found it in the pool house actually. I have no idea how it got there.” He admitted with a shrug.

She smiled so widely she thought her face would split in two as she stared at the silver chain with the three charms on it. It had been a present from Duncan, Logan, and Lilly on her fifteenth birthday. They had all bought her a separate charm and Lilly had bought the chain it went on. Lilly had bought her a silver key charm. Duncan had bought her silver outline of a heart and Logan had got her a four-leaf clover to keep her lucky. It was the best gift she’d ever gotten and then she’d lost it over at Logan’s one night after one of their drunken debauchery filled nights. For her sixteenth birthday Lilly had gotten her another necklace the one she never took off and the pink cashmere sweater she couldn’t look at without crying.

How Logan had found her necklace was anyone’s guess, but she was glad he did since she loved it. She looked at him with her big blue eyes shinning with tears and she reached out to hug him again burying her face in his shirt.

“Thank you.” she whispered holding him tight. 

He kissed the top of her head gently holding her equally as tight.

“There’s something else.” He added gesturing down to the black box. She let go reluctantly and looked back inside the box looking for the other gift.

“Since returning a lost item really isn’t a gift I thought I’d add to it.” He said bashfully.

She grinned at him when she found the little silver dog and a tag with an inspiration message on it.

“You are braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” She read staring at the silver circle no bigger than a quarter.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” she said looking up at him and meeting his warm chocolate brown eyes. 

He smiled and nodded looking down at the gift in her lap.

“Do you want me to put it on?” he asked gesturing to the necklace.

She nodded her throat clogging up from excess emotion. She moved the box off of her lap and turned around holding the chain up for Logan to put on. Veronica sat perfectly still as Logan with trembling fingers brought the chain around her neck and clasped it. It took him a few times to connect it because of his shaky fingers, but eventually he got it. Instead of moving away quickly they sat in their position with the glow of the Christmas lights dancing around the living room and reflecting off their faces and the TV playing the Christmas specials softly in the background. 

Logan let his fingers linger on her neck once he’d clasped the necklace not able to pull away. Veronica moved her head slightly so she looked over her shoulder at him. They stared at each other wordlessly both drawn in to the other one’s intense emotions reflecting in their eyes. Logan moved his hand up to cup her face and Veronica leaned in her eyes piercing his own. 

Logan sat there frozen as she came closer and then pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth before pulling back frightened to see his reaction. Instead of anything negative Logan pulled her forward and kissed her again feeling the warmth she brought go throughout his body. As their lips touched Veronica wrapped her arms around Logan and brought him closer as she moved around to get more comfortable. His lips were incredibly soft on hers and the intense emotions that had been in his eyes were now being translated with his lips. She had never been kissed like this, it was like fireworks were going off and her head was going to explode in pleasure. The world seemed to stop and her stomach was doing flips in eagerness to bring him closer.

Her fingers threaded through his hair as his tongue pushed her lips apart to gain entrance to her mouth. Her tongue caressed his and he let out a little moan pulling her closer. 

Suddenly Backup let out a bark and the entire world came crashing down around them. Reluctantly Veronica moved away and looked at her dog wondering what could be so important that it would interrupt kissing Logan. 

“Veronica! Can you take Backup out?” Keith yelled from the bedroom.

Veronica blushed and looked over at Logan who was pretty much the same color.

“Sure dad!” she called back hastily moving away from Logan and over to the dog.

Logan watched her feeling dazed. “Do you want me to come with you?” he asked his voice husky.

“No I won’t be gone long. You should probably go to bed. Don’t want Santa walking in on us.” She teased clipping the leash to Backup’s collar.

“Veronica—“ Logan began getting off the couch.

“It’s ok, Logan. I put your stuff in the guest room and the bed’s made up.” She said looking everywhere, but at him.

He watched her and nervously began to wring his hands. “Are you sure?” he asked not really wanting to leave her.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll see you in the morning.” She mumbled giving him a sheepish smile before leaving the house with the dog.

Logan watched her go with trepidation and then slowly headed to the guest bedroom. He tried to understand her logic and her need to run. Her dad was still up after all so they couldn’t really do anything, but they were going to have to talk about it soon. They hadn’t been able to talk about anything else that had happened between them and now that they had kissed again obviously the first time wasn’t a mistake. There was something there Logan knew and he was going to try his damnest to find out what Veronica was feeling because he was pretty sure it was the same thing he was.


	13. The Talk

Chapter 13 The Talk

“Veronica! Wake up! Lets open presents!” Keith said loudly knocking on her door.

Veronica groaned and rolled over looking at her alarm clock. It read 8 am. She moaned loudly when her dad began to knock louder on the door.

“Veronica! We’re waiting!” Keith yelled again.

“Isn’t the child supposed to be doing this? Not the father!” Veronica whined pulling herself out of bed and grabbing a pair of sweatpants to put on. As she put the pants on she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped. She eyed the small bump that was only visible to someone who looked. She put a gentle hand to her stomach feeling for the first time since she found out that she was pregnant that everything was real. Seeing the evidence was much more intense than just hearing it. Now that she could see a little bump on her stomach she actually felt pregnant. 

“Veronica!” Keith yelled again and she tore her eyes away from her reflection and hurried out of the door.

She hugged her father good morning and then went to sit on the couch beside Logan who gave her a tired smile. She blushed and looked at the tree where the presents were to avoid looking at Logan. Every time she looked at him the kiss from the night before played once again through her mind. It was such a hot kiss she didn’t know what to make of it. She wanted to talk to him about it, but at the same time she was scared. She also still wasn’t sure if she trusted him or not. Granted she was much more comfortable around him, but that didn’t mean she trusted him unconditionally.

Keith handed the presents out one at a time and everyone opened their own. Keith got seasons tickets from Logan and from Veronica he got a framed picture of the sonogram and a jersey from his favorite player. Veronica got some pregnancy books from her dad and a baby’s first year book and from Logan she got a teddy bear and a gift card to a maternity story. Logan got a book of inspirational quotes, a videogame, and a book on how to be a dad from Keith and from Veronica he got a scrapbook starting from when they first met all the way until now with room to add more and a set of Logan’s favorite movies.

When presents were all opened Keith decided to take Backup for a walk leaving the two teen parents alone.

“I have something else for you too, but I didn’t want to give it to you in front of my dad.” Veronica said leading him back to her room.

Logan awkwardly entered her room and looked around taking in all of the changes since the last time. Her room seemed to be in transition. Half of it was still the same as he remembered girly and pink and the other half was taken over by artistic looking pictures and a map with pinpoint on it. Her pink bedspread had been traded in for a black one and the large mountain of stuffed animals that used to greet him and sit on her bed were long gone. The only one that sat on her bed was the one he’d won for her at the Winter Carnival last year when Duncan was sick. He wouldn’t deny that the only saved stuffed animal was one he’d won for her with his brawn made him feel good and warm inside.

“Ever since the other night when I came over and found you like that I’ve been thinking.” Veronica started sitting on her bed and patting the space beside her. She left out the part where she kept having visions of how he got like that. She kept seeing his dead beat the shit out of him because of her. She felt guilty and sick all over again.

Logan sat down wondering where she was going with this. “I want to help do something about your dad.” Veronica said looking into his eyes.

Logan looked away not knowing what to say. “I don’t want you getting involved.” He finally voiced.

“I want to help though. What your dad did…does…it can’t happen again. I don’t like seeing you hurt.” She said quietly.

Logan gave her a small smile, “Speaking of which are we going to talk at all about last night?” he asked.

Veronica looked away with a blush. “This isn’t about me it’s about you. I want to figure out a way to get your dad out of your life for good, if that’s what you want.” She added.

Logan nodded, “I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of daddy dearest gone forever.” He mumbled.

“Good I was thinking—“ she began.

“I don’t want to talk about this on Christmas though.” He said cutting her off.

She frowned, “Ok…but you do want to do it, right?” she clarified.

He nodded, “I do, but can we wait until the holidays are over? I want to talk about last night and the long awaited conversation we should’ve had after we had sex.” He mumbled looking down at his lap knowing it was partially his fault that they didn’t talk about it right after they did the deed.

“Ok.” Veronica said with a heavy sigh.

They both sat in silence neither knowing where to start.

“Why did you kiss me last night?” Logan finally asked breaking the silence.

“I could ask the same from you.” she said giving him a look.

He sighed and sat back again the wall the bed was pressed up to. “I—“ he began, but was cut off by the loud ringing of her phone. She gave him an apologetic smile and then went to answer it.

“Hello.” She greeted looking over at Logan who was staring down at his lap and playing with his hands.

“Veronica its Wallace. I need your help.” Wallace said quickly.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I’m at the police station. Can you please come? I’ll explain when you get here.” Wallace said hurriedly.

Veronica sighed, “I’ll be right there.” She said before hanging up and touching Logan’s hand softly.

“I have to go help someone will you be ok here?” she asked trying to get him to look at her.

Logan stared at her for a moment and then chuckled. “Are you actually asking me to stay in your empty house and wait for you to get home while you’re out helping some guy? I don’t think so. I’m coming.” Logan said standing up and looking down at her.

She sighed and looked away from him. “Logan you aren’t coming.”

“Veronica I’m not going to sit and twiddle my thumbs as you prove some guy you hardly knows innocence.” Logan said looking down at her with annoyance written across his face.

“Seriously. I don’t need your help. I’m just helping a guy from school.” She protested.

“Oh that makes me feel so much better.” He said sarcastically.

She huffed and stood up. “I can take care of myself.”

“But it’s not just you anymore. There’s a kid inside you too and I’ll be damned if anything happens to either of you.” he said protectively.

Veronica opened her mouth to fight back, but Logan shot her a look that defused the argument within her.

“Just stay in the car.” She warned turning to grab some stuff and walking to the door.

“Where are we going?” he asked following after her.

“Sheriff’s department.” She said vaguely opening the door to the LeBaron and getting inside. They drove quietly along until Logan broke the silence.

“Are we going to talk about last night?” he asked looking over towards her.

She shrugged keeping her eyes on the road. “If you want to.”

Logan looked away and out his own window. “So who’s this guy we’re going to help?”

“I am helping him and his name is Wallace Fennel.”

“We are helping him because you aren’t going anywhere dangerous alone anymore and who is that?”

“Yes. I am. I’m not a child that you can babysit. I have stuff to do and now with this new job I’m going to be doing stuff like this a lot more and some guy on the basketball team. He seems nice.”

Logan scowled and looked over at her with a glare. “Do you have a crush on him or something? And what job? I can take care of the money.”

“I don’t want you to. I like what you suggested, you know catching the bad guys and everything. It’s a little cathartic and no I do not have a crush on Wallace. I went to the Sac-N-Pac and saw the PCHers giving him a hard time.” Veronica said startled by Logan’s sudden anger.

“Oh right the gang your other boyfriend belongs to.” Logan said snapping his fingers and shifting around angrily.

She frowned, “If your going to be a jerk why did you come? Not to mention it’s Christmas and I don’t want to deal with your impression of a donkey’s ass. So if you could drop the attitude that would be great.” She snapped pulling into the Sheriff’s station.

Logan glared out the window angrily not saying anything as she parked the car. Before she got out he put a hand on her arm to stop her.

“Please be careful. I’m sorry and if you want to rule the world and carve figurines out of glass then I’ll stand by you. Whatever makes you happy, just be careful.” He said looking at her pleadingly.

She gave him a soft smile and nodded before getting out. It wasn’t exactly the talk she had been hoping for, but it was a start. They had to talk about last night and the time before, but where to begin? Neither of them were eager to bring it up especially because both had been hurt in the past. But she was also feeling eager to hear what he had to say and sick at what he had to say. She didn’t know if she could take him saying that the entire thing was a mistake and he just wanted to be friends, but on the other hand it would be easier. She wouldn’t have to open up to him and the whole raising a kid thing would be much simpler. But on the other hand she really wanted to hear what he had to say and whether or not he actually genuinely liked her or if this was just a fluke. She had to remind herself though that he had kissed her the night before so it couldn’t just be a fluke. Something was there she was sure of it.

She hurried into the police station and came to stand in front of a familiar young black haired man who she’d seen before, but was a Rookie and generally didn’t talk to her. Whether it was because he was busy or scared about what would happen if someone told the Sheriff.

“Veronica what are you doing here on Christmas?” the Rookie asked with a cute smile.

She smiled while inwardly cringing inside that this guy knew her name, but she had no idea who he was.

“My friend called me. I think he’s in a cell.” She said giving him her best smile.

The Rookie grinned and sat on the edge of the desk. “What’s his name?” he asked.

“Wallace Fennel.” She said trying to catch a glimpse of his nametag so she could butter him up some more. “Deputy Leo, please it’s Christmas.” She added when he looked hesitant.

Deputy Leo smirked, “And since it is Christmas may I ask what you are doing here instead of being at home with the good Sheriff?” Leo asked teasingly.

“Trying to help a friend. Do you know what happened?” she asked watching him carefully.

The big grin was still there. “I might, but the information is going to cost you.” he said.

She frowned for a moment when she detected a flirtatious tone in his voice. Was he flirting with her?

“I was wondering if you wanted to come to one of my bands shows. We’re playing New Years and I’d really like for you to come.” Deputy Leo said taking a step forward grinning down at her.

She stared at him dumbstruck. “I—“

“Well if it isn’t Veronica Mars.” 

Veronica whipped around and saw Weevil getting discharged by Cliff.

“Weevil.” Veronica greeted momentarily forgetting about Leo.

“Visiting your daddy?” Weevil mocked.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. “Visiting a friend. Maybe you’ve heard of him since your gang has been tormenting him. Wallace Fennel.” She demanded to know.

Weevil smirked. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He said.

“What happened?” Veronica asked going straight to the point.

Weevil’s smirk deepened. “Here you go again asking me all types of questions. Your boy started it anyway. He’s a snitch.” Weevil said before being dragged off by Cliff who sent her an apologetic look.

Leo called her name getting her attention. “So what about New Years?” he asked hopefully.

She stared at him for a moment before sighing. “I’m pregnant. Do you really want to be asking a pregnant girl to New Years?”

Deputy Leo’s mouth dropped open and he stared at her wide eyed. “Pregnant? But you’re like eighteen.”

“Sixteen and yeah I am.” Veronica said sighing a little. “Can I see Wallace now?”

Leo nodded still looking shocked and led her to the cells.

“You know I always kind of liked you. If you weren’t would you wanna—“

“I’m sorry Leo I’m kind of already seeing someone.” Veronica said giving him another apologetic look.

He nodded slowly and then turned away leading her to Wallace’s cell without saying anything and then left.

“Veronica.” Wallace said jumping to the bars to talk with her.

“What happened?” Veronica asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

“My mom sent me out to get some last minute ingredients for dinner when the PCHers jumped me. We got arrested for disorderly conduct and then when I tried to explain the situation I got arrested for resisting an officer.” Wallace said sadly.

“So that’s why Weevil’s out before you.” Veronica mused.

“That and he has a lawyer on speed dial.”

“Cliff is the best.” She said.

“So what’s going to happen?” he asked.

Veronica sighed, “well I have a plan, but first we have to get you out of here. Can someone post your bail?” she asked.

“I’m too afraid to call my mom.” He said bluntly.

“You’re going to have to. Leave the rest up to me.” She said gesturing for Deputy Saks to come over.

“Can you give him one more phone call?” Veronica asked hopefully.

Deputy Saks rolled his eyes. “Only because you’re the Sheriff’s daughter.” He said before unlocking Wallace’s cell and letting him use the phone.

Wallace gave her an incredulous look and she wished him good luck before scurrying out of there and back to the car. Logan sat there playing on his phone when she got back inside. They looked at each other for a long moment before Veronica broke the silence.

“What are we?” she asked out of the blue.

He frowned not knowing what to say. “Like as in human? Or—“

“Are we dating? Fooling around? Hooking up? Just friends? What are we?” she asked looking up at him with wide eyes.

He licked his lips in thought and then looked out the window wondering what to say. “What do you want us to be?”

“What do you want us to be?”

Logan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“If we’re going to figure this out one of us has to be willing to take a leap. I know neither of us trust easily, but if we want to figure this out we need to stop screwing around and talk.” He said quietly.

She smiled, “smart words from such a bad boy.”

He smirked, “My mom likes therapy.” He said.

She giggled and sat back in the seat. “Deputy Leo asked me out.” She blurted out suddenly.

Logan jerked around to look at her in his seat a mixture of emotions playing in his eyes. Jealous. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. Veronica could feel the hurt and betrayal cutting her the worst.

“What’d you say?” he asked quietly trying to keep his voice steady.

“Logan, I’m pregnant what to you think I said?” she asked turning to give him an incredulous look.

Logan sat back slowly and gulped.

“Should I have said yes?” she whispered.

“I don’t know. Should you have?” Logan spat.

Veronica let out a groan and banged her head against her seat rest. “This isn’t helping. You just said we had to take a leap. So just take a leap with me.” She begged taking his hand and making him turn to her. They looked at each other both lost in their other’s eyes before Logan broke away.

“I don’t want you seeing other guys.” He admitted finally.

She smiled, “Good. I don’t want to see other guys.” She said.

He grinned bashfully. “Good.”

“Good.”

They both smiled at each other, before it was Veronica’s time to take the plunge. 

“Where do you want to begin?” she asked fidgeting in her seat.

“From the beginning I guess.” He said reluctantly.

“Ok.” She said nodding.

“Ok.” He said and neither of them continued.

“I’m sorry I didn’t pick up your calls right after we had sex.” Logan began after a long silence.

She looked down, “I was scared you regretted what had happened.”

“I did just not in the way you think.” Logan said honestly.

“Then in what way?” 

“I thought I’d ruined our friendship. I thought you’d tell me that I was heartless or something for taking advantage of you.” Logan admitted.

“I wanted it to. It’s not just your fault. We were both looking for company.” She said holding his hand tight. The only way she’d get through this honest conversation was if Logan was there to guide her. It was a scary conversation navigating one’s feelings.

“It wasn’t a grief fuck. I want you to know that.” Logan said looking into her eyes.

She smiled, “That’s good to hear.”

“I kind of knew Lilly and I were done…” he trailed off squeezing her hand. “Right before she died when we got into that fight…I knew we were done. This time it felt, different somehow. I knew she was seeing someone else too it was driving me crazy and I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I was tired of living in the dramatic life of Lilly Kane.” He said leaning his head back on the seat rest. He looked over at her taking in the expression on her face. “I just want you to know that it was about us. I wasn’t feeling grief over Lilly or wanting to get back at her in death, but I just wanted you. I wanted there to be an us.” He said honestly.

“Why?” Veronica rasped feeling tears prickling in her eyes.

“Because you’re the only one that sees me. Sees through my bullshit or calls me out. You’re the only one that takes the time to actually listen and see and I just had to be with you if only for a little while.” he paused as if taking a moment to gather his strength. “Kind of how I want to be with you now.” He admitted so low Veronica almost had trouble hearing it, but she did. She caught every word and her heard did a few flips.

She didn’t know what to say to that so she leaned in to kiss him trying to show him how much what he’d said meant to her. Her tongue slipped in between his lips and she massaged his tongue with hers eliciting a low pleasurable sound from Logan. When his hands grazed up her body he deepened the kiss trying to pull her closer. Finally in need of air they broke apart resting their foreheads on each other.

“So does this mean we’re dating?” she whispered smiling.

“Only if you want to.” He said caressing her cheek and giving her a sweet kiss on the lips.

“I’ve never wanted anything more.” She admitted leaning in for another kiss. They stayed there until Keith called looking for them. They hurried home and with Logan’s help they began to hatch a plan to help Wallace.


	14. The Pretender

Chapter 14 The Pretender

Logan stayed at the Mars residence until the day after Christmas when he thought it would be a good idea to go home. He didn’t want to leave, but he’d been with the two Mars’ for the better part of three days. Although Veronica was very opposed to the idea of him returning to an empty house he went anyway. Probably against his better judgment. 

When he got home his house was much the same as it had been before he left and the help were already back to work. He spent time thinking about how things had gone with Veronica and how he was glad they got to talk about everything. Granted they had a long way to go, but they were slowly on the road to finding each other. 

They had spent the better part of the evening the night before getting the Fennel kid’s saving-his-ass plan in order and he knew that Veronica was going to ask the kid to come over to discuss the plan that night. He knew he shouldn’t feel jealous about the Fennel kid, but he couldn’t help it. He had been scorned way too many times by Lilly who repeatedly cheated on him and he couldn’t help that he was still a little untrusting in the dating department. He kept telling himself that nothing was going to happen because it was Veronica and she wasn’t a cheater and she was also pregnant. He didn’t know anything about the Fennel kid, but Ronnie always had a good sense of judgment and he figured if she trusted him then why couldn’t he?

Neither the less he did worry way more than he should over what was going on between Veronica and the Fennel kid even though he kept telling himself she wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t help it though he had serious trust issues. When she called later that night he asked how everything had gone trying to be nonchalant.

“Good. I’m going to switch the videos tomorrow. I know dad will be angry, but it’s not like it’s getting him in trouble. More so Lamb.” She figured he deserved it too after the things he had said about her dad. 

“And how’s the Fennel kid taking everything?” Logan asked trying to be casual. 

“Logan, his name’s Wallace and you don’t have to worry about anything. He’s just a guy I’m helping out. He came over. I told him the plan and that I’d put it into motion. Then we’d let that guy Weevil know and then everything will be finished. Everyone wins.” She said laying it all out on the table.

Logan sighed and played with his bedspread. “And I’m coming with you tomorrow, right?”

“Of course.” Veronica said. “As if I’d expect anything different.” She huffed.

“Good. What time do you want me to come over?” 

“Let’s say one. Actually maybe earlier so we can finish our school project.” 

“Ok.”

There was a beat of silence as neither of them knew what to say next.

“You know you could’ve stayed here until your parents came home.” Veronica said softly.

Logan smiled at her caring tone. “I know, but I overstayed my welcome so...” He said.

“You didn’t actually. I think you even grew on my dad.” She said laughing. 

“The seasons tickets probably helped.”

“Probably.” 

“Seriously though if you want to come stay here until your parents get back that’s fine.” Veronica said softly.

Logan smiled, “I’ll think about it. I’ll be over tomorrow to help with Wallace and make sure you don’t get captured by the PCHers.”

“Don’t forget about Macbeth.” 

“However could I.”

They paused neither of them wanting to get off the phone.

“What are you doing for New Years?” Logan asked nerves leaking into his voice.

Veronica smiled to herself her insides going mooshy as she thought about spending New Years with Logan.

“Nothing. Probably sitting at home with dad.”

“Well do you maybe want to go out?” he asked hopefulness lacing his voice.

Veronica’s smile began to spread almost hurting her face from how happy she was.

“Yeah ok.” She said trying to be nonchalant.

“Ok cool.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked eagerly.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” He said laughing knowing she was pouting on the other end.

“Fine. Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said.

“Bye.” He said.

They hung up the phone each with huge smiles on their faces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica was nervous as she smoothed down the royal blue dress she decided on. Logan refused to tell her where they were going only to dress nice casual. Whatever that meant. 

It was New Years and so far the last few days had been the best in awhile. Everything with Wallace and the PCHers had worked out. Weevil was much more considerate after she told him of the switch. Then his guys got off of the charges and now she had a gang member in her debt. Wallace was free from threats and hopefully wouldn’t be beaten up anymore and maybe she even had a friend. Everything seemed to be going well even her nausea was slowing down although she could tell she was gaining weight. She knew she should go use Logan’s gift card to buy some maternity clothes, but she wasn’t ready for that yet. That and the fact she had no one to shop with. She used to go with Lilly, but now that the only friend she had was Logan and maybe Wallace she highly doubted either of them would want to go.

She figured maybe she could call Meg, but she knew she was in Aspen like all the other 09ers. Which left Veronica with nothing, but smaller and more uncomfortable clothes or suck it up and go herself. Now would be the best time to have a mom.

Veronica snapped out of her thoughts as her dad knocked on her door.

“Logan’s here.” Keith said looking at her. 

She smiled and smoothed down the dress. “Do I look ok?” she asked worried that her bump was too exposed in the dress. It was a casual royal blue silk dress that came to her knees, but it was loose and one of the few things that fit her. 

“You look beautiful.” Keith said giving her a smile and a hug before she left the room.

She was wearing the necklace Logan had found for her and her hair was down and curled. She wore sandals to be more comfortable regardless of the fact that she looked even shorter.

“Hey.” Logan said handing her a bouquet.

She smiled and took them from him putting them in water.

“Enjoy and try to be safe. Bring her home by one, please.” Keith said looking at Logan seriously.

“I find it funny that I have a curfew and yet I will be a parent soon.” Veronica said smirking.

“Don’t remind me.” Keith said scoffing.

Veronica smiled at him and then hugged him one last time before the new couple left hand in hand. Logan helped her into the car and then they began to drive to their mystery destination. Neither of them said much each too nervous and lost in their own thoughts.

“When do your parents get home?” Veronica asked breaking the silence.

“I’m not sure sometime after New Years. They didn’t give an exact date.” Logan said shrugging.

Veronica nodded shifting in her seat uncomfortably.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Logan smirked, “For the thousandth time Mars, I’m not telling.”

“Can I guess?”

“No.”

“Fine.” she pouted sitting back in her seat.

“You look beautiful tonight by the way.” Logan said quietly reaching over to take her hand in his.

She smiled and blushed, “You look pretty dapper yourself, sir.”

“Well thank you madam.”

They laughed together both feeling giddy and nervous for being with the other. It had been a long time since either of them had been on a first date so it was new territory they were in. Territory that both scared and excited them. Both of them were still trying to sort through their own emotions when it came to each other and neither of them knew where this unexpected transition was going to go. 

“So when do you want to talk about your dad?” Veronica asked quietly caressing his fingers in her hand. So far they had avoided most big topics since before Christmas. There was no talk of her paternity, his abuse, or the baby other than the general check in questions.

Logan glanced over at her with a frown. “I don’t want to talk about any of the big issues. Can’t we just treat this like a first date? Forget that my dad’s a psychopath, Duncan might be your biological brother, and how we are about to become teen parents? Can’t we pretend for one night?”

Veronica opened her mouth to tell him that they needed to deal with all of these unwanted situations, but when she saw the look in his eye she stopped herself. She wanted tonight to be about them just as much as he did and bringing up their baggage wouldn’t accomplish that. As much as she wanted to talk to him about his dad she knew that tonight should focus on their budding relationship. Besides she was in the same boat of not wanting to talk about some of the big issues. As much as he didn’t want to talk about his dad she didn’t want to talk about her possible paternity something she’d been putting off until after the holidays. She had receive her results and had yet to open the package. Currently it was hidden beneath the mountain of stuffed animals in her closet that used to sit on her bed.

“Yeah. We can do that.” she relented watching as he brought the hand still in his up to her lips to give her a soft kiss. She shivered as he lips made contact to the back of her hand and she swore if she wasn’t already sitting her knees would go weak.

“Good. Now lets go eat.” Logan said giving her a smirk before pulling the car into a parking lot and parking it before coming around to help her out.

Veronica smiled seeing the restaurant on the waterfront that they were in front of. The restaurant was an Italian and seafood eatery that sat on the ocean and allowed the guests to eat by the water. Veronica had never been there because it was too expensive and she didn’t want her parents spending money where they didn’t need to, but she did hear that it was to die for. Mostly by Lilly who’d been there multiple times.

“Wow Logan, trying to impress me?” Veronica snarked as he took her hand and led her inside.

“No. I take all my girls here.” He said throwing her a grin as they walked into the restaurant. Veronica felt her stomach swoop at his offhanded comment. She knew he was joking, but she also knew that he and Lilly went there a lot. That fact bothered her and not for the first time she wondered if he compared her and Lilly or if he wished she was Lilly. She tried to not think about it often, but the dark thoughts did float across her mind once in awhile especially now that they were secretly dating. Or whatever it was they were doing. 

Veronica looked around in interest as she took in the chic décor. There were various fish tanks throughout the restaurant with brightly colored sea creatures. As the hostess led them through the restaurant and outside to the patio that overlooked the ocean Veronica knew tonight was going to be special and tried to push away the dark thoughts.

“What do you think?” Logan asked as they sat down.

Veronica smiled, “it’s nice. I thought you were allergic to shellfish though.” 

“Trying to kill yourself?” she teased when he didn’t respond.

Logan ignored her ribbing and looked at her with an intensity that made her insides turn warm and fluttery. 

“I wanted to take you out on our boat, but I wasn’t sure if you’d get sick or not. I figured this place had a nice view of the water and they have fireworks at ten. I thought it would be a nice way to start off the New Years.” He said shyly.

She grinned and took one of his hands in hers. “It’s perfect and I’m glad you didn’t take me out to sea. Throwing up isn’t romantic.” She said and reminding herself that his reasons had nothing to do with Lilly. He was just trying to be romantic. She pushed any thoughts of comparison between her and Lilly out of her mind wanting to enjoy tonight with him.

Logan chuckled, “is that what this is, romantic?” 

“You tell me. I thought it was just a ploy to take advantage of a pristine girl.” Veronica said lacing their fingers together.

“Possibly. I haven’t decided if you’re worth the trouble yet.” Logan said smirking.

Veronica opened her mouth to retort when they were interrupted by the waiter coming over.

“Hello. I’m John I’ll be your server tonight.” The waiter said looking back and forth between Veronica and Logan. He narrowed his eyes staring between the two.

“Don’t you go to Neptune?” John asked looking at their laced fingers.

“No. Pan High.” Logan said swiftly.

John frowned, “Are you—“

“Can I have a water please?” Veronica asked cutting him off not in the mood to talk about high school.

John frowned and looked down at the pad of paper. He looked over at Logan waiting for him to order his drink. 

“Water’s fine.” Logan said keeping his eyes trained on Veronica.

John walked away without another word, but Veronica saw him go over to one of his coworkers and begin to talk looking in their direction.

“Do you think he’ll spit in our food?” Veronica asked tearing her eyes away from John.

Logan shrugged, “and if he does I’ll get him fired.”

“Logan—“

“What? I don’t want to deal with stupid high school bullshit tonight. I want it to just be us without people talking about us or pointing at us. Is that really so hard? We have to go back to school in a couple of days and I’m—“ Logan began to rant, but was quickly cut off my Veronica who got up and pulled him up too. She began to lead him off of the deck and out of the outside entrance back to his car. Ignoring the looks they were getting as they went.

“Veronica where are we going?” Logan asked surprised by her strength for such a petite girl.

“Come on.” She said stopping at his car and turning to him.

“Where are we going?” he asked again confused.

“Somewhere where it’s just the two of us.” She said leaning up to peck him on the lips.

Logan frowned, but opened the door anyway. They got back in the car and Veronica directed him to the beach they partied on during Homecoming. Before they went to the beach they stopped for a hamburger, fries and a milkshake and took it with them. Luckily Logan had a blanket in the back seat of the Xterra and they set up a mini picnic on the sand where there was no one, but the two of them. 

“This is perfect.” Logan said stealing some of Veronica’s fries.

She glared playfully at him and then stole a sip of his vanilla milkshake.

“See! Why do there have to be so many other people? Why can’t it just be the two of us?” She mumbled moving closer to him for warmth. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in to his side his chin resting on the top of her head.

“Why indeed, but don’t forget there’s going to be three of us soon.” He said quietly rubbing the small bump that was slowly becoming more visible.

“Hey! Don’t rush it. We still have two trimesters to get through and a lot of other things to do, like second semester.” Veronica pouted stealing another sip of his milkshake.

“Yeah, but I’ve been reading some books—“

“Wait! What?” Veronica asked shocked.

Logan frowned looking down at her. “Why do you sound so shocked?” he asked.

Veronica looked towards the ocean the fact that he had said ‘books’ as in plural rolling around in her head. She had the books, her father had gotten them for Christmas for her and he had gotten a daddy book, but she didn’t think he’d actually read them. Inwardly she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was waiting for him to leave like everyone else.

“Why are you surprised I’m reading the books?” he asked again drawing her attention back to him.

She sighed, “I’m not shocked…I’m just…”

“Shocked.” He said moving away from her so he could see her face. He kept one arm around her, but his body was turned towards her and she was doing everything in her power to not look him in the eye.

“I went out and bought a few books after starting to read the one your dad gave me. Plus I saw all the ones you had and I don’t know I thought it would be helpful.” He said quietly.

“I haven’t even started to read the books.” She admitted in a voice barely above a whisper.

He smirked trying to make a joke. “Are you telling me that the Great Veronica Mars isn’t the overachiever I thought she was? My world has been destroyed. Nothing makes sense anymore.” He said chortling. She didn’t join in and instead looked down at the half eaten food on the blanket in front of them.

“What’s wrong, Veronica?” Logan asked tilting her face towards his.

Her eyes darted everywhere before finally landing on his. He let out a slow breath when he saw the inner turmoil in her eyes and without her having to say it he knew what was wrong. They knew each other too well.

“I didn’t think you’d actually stay.” She whispered finally.

Logan frowned and cupped his face with his hands before leaning down and kissing the tip of her nose so gently she felt tears gathering in her eyes at how delicate he was being with her.

“I’m not going anywhere, Ronnie. I know I still have a lot to make up for, but we’re going to do this. I’m going to try and be the man good enough for you.” he paused taking a moment to kiss the tears rolling down her face. “And once the baby comes I’ll be there for him or her too. I promise you I’m not going to leave you unless it’s what you want and even then you’ll have a helluva time trying to get rid of me.” He said finishing off his promise with a gentle kiss on the lips.

She moved her arms to encircle him and bring him closer burying her face in his shirt. 

“That was before though. What if us dating doesn’t work out?” she asked worriedly.

“Then I’ll still be around for us to raise our kid together.” He said kissing her on top of the head.

“And what if I get fat and mean and I really am Duncan’s sister?” she asked in the same tone.

“Then I’ll still want to be with you regardless if you are Duncan’s sister. If you get mean though I’ll try and channel the jackass within so we can be that old mean couple, but I’m not leaving you Ronnie. We still have a story to explore.” He said tilting her face up to his so he could kiss her.

When they separated she had a slight smile on her face and she was feeling better.

“And what if—“

“Shhhh Veronica the fireworks are starting.” Logan said kissing her so she’d be quiet and then nodding to the display in the distance. They finished their food and watched the fireworks quietly. As the lights in the sky died down Logan checked his watch to see that they still had an hour to go.

“Do you wanna stay here or go somewhere else?” Logan asked enjoying where they were.

“Here’s fine.” she said snuggling closer to him. When she was comfortable she leaned up and kissed him relishing how good of a kisser Logan was. The kiss soon became more passionate and Veronica crawled into Logan’s lap so they could continue their make-out session.

The couple remained in their embrace each enjoying the other one’s lips until it was after midnight and the New Year had been rung in. They both laughed realizing they had missed it, but neither cared that much just happy they were together.

“You know what they say about the New Year.” Logan said as they packed up their little picnic and went back to his car.

“What inspiration message do you have for me Echolls?” she asked swinging their linked hands.

“Just that the way you ring in the New Year is the way you end the New Year.” He said opening the door for her.

“I don’t know, last year New Years I ended it with making out with Duncan while you and Lilly got jiggy with it in the poolhouse at the Kane mansion.” Veronica mused giving him a look.

Logan winced, “So maybe it’s a stupid saying.”

“I mean maybe I’ll end the New Year this year making out with some other guy, Casey or Dick maybe. You never know.”

Logan shot her a glare and she giggled taking his hand again not wanting to be without the comfort of him.

“Don’t say that. I don’t want to think of you making out with anyone else.”

“I don’t want to think of you making out with anyone else.”

“Ok.”

“Good.” 

Veronica leaned over the console and kissed him enjoying the sensation of his tongue dancing with hers. She let out a little sigh and sat back.

“Home Alfred.”

“You got it Mars.” He said starting the car and driving towards her house. He walked her up to her door and as they stood on the porch he leaned forward to kiss her goodnight.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here tonight? The guest bedroom looks lonely.” She said leaning forward to kiss him again. For some reason she was feeling extra loving and not wanting to let him go.

He smirked. “Trying to have your wild way with me, Ms. Mars?”

“We just gotta wait until my dad falls asleep.” She teased stepping back and pulling him towards the door.

“As tempting as that is, I should go.” Logan said giving her another kiss.

She pouted and he kissed her jutted out lip before finally relenting seeing the puppy eyes.

“Fine! Let’s ask your dad though and our kid better not inherit that. I’m a goner if they do.” He said even more anxious around the Sheriff since they began dating.

She chortled, “I love that you’re afraid of him. It’s so entertaining.”

Logan scoffed and reached around her to open the door. Veronica turned around to walk inside and stopped dead in her tracks making Logan bump into her. There in the living room with her dad sat her mom looking worse for wear, but with a smile on her face.

“Happy New Year, honey.” Her mom said stumbling off the couch and coming to give her a hug. 

A happy New Year indeed, Veronica thought bitterly staring at her estranged alcoholic mother not knowing whether she should be happy or upset.


	15. The Quad

Chapter 15 The Quad

Veronica picked at her lunch not feeling all that hungry. The smell was making her stomach turn and she seriously didn’t feel like excusing herself to vomit next period. It was Monday and she already wished that the week would fly by and it would be the weekend.

School was finally back in session and she was getting even more stares than before now that she was showing. People didn’t torment her as much as they had before, but when she walked down the hall people had a tendency to stop talking or point at her. She wasn’t sure if Logan noticed since he hadn’t brought it up yet, but she surely did.

To her displeasure she had found herself in the bathroom crying more than once after overhearing people gossip about her. She knew she wouldn’t be this fragile if she wasn’t pregnant, but she was and her hormones were so all over the place she had a tendency to cry at the drop of a hat.

If things at school were bad it was nothing compared to her home life. She wasn’t sure how to feel about her mother being home. It had been a little over a month since she had run out on them and now she was back as if nothing had changed. She had been home for almost a week and things were still stiff to say the least.

Veronica had needed her mother and she was too busy running away and drowning her problems with a bottle. Veronica was just glad Logan had been there the night her mother returned. Veronica’s mind flashed back to that night replaying the uncomfortable reunion.

* * *

 

           

_She felt Logan’s hand go to her shoulder and squeeze lightly. She felt stronger with the gesture and she took a deep breath before plastering a smile on her face._

_“Mom.” She said looking over to her dad who was staring at them with a steely expression._

_“Veronica, honey how are you?” Lianne asked taking her daughter’s hand and pulling her to the couch._

_Veronica grabbed at Logan to get him to follow and he did so obligingly looking over at Keith not knowing exactly what to do. He wasn’t sure if he should go back home or be there for Veronica. He saw Keith give him a slight nod and he knew that he was staying. He didn’t want to leave Veronica alone with her estranged mother anyway. She was a complete nutcase in his opinion._

_“I’m fine.” Veronica said as the three of them sat on the couch with Keith in the armchair._

_“Are you ok? Has everything been going well?” Lianne asked caressing Veronica’s face and looking at her as if she hadn’t seen her in years._

_Veronica nodded torn between wanting to yell at her mother for leaving and being happy that she was back._

_“Good. Good. I’m glad.” Lianne stuttered looking over at Keith. Keith sighed and rubbed his hand across his bald-head._

_“Is there anything you want to tell me? Anything new going on?” Lianne asked after a sizeable pause._

_Veronica looked over at Logan not knowing what to say. “Um...I’m pregnant.” Veronica said quietly not knowing what else to say._

_Lianne’s eyes widened and she looked over at Keith in anger. “You let her get pregnant?” she asked anger filling her voice._

_Keith stared at her for a moment shocked that she was blaming him._

_“I’m almost fourteen weeks mom this isn’t dad’s fault!” Veronica said loudly. She felt Logan’s hand on her leg trying to get her to calm down, but she was feeling angry at her mother’s accusations._

_“And where have you been? You think you can just waltz back in here after leaving? You left after Lilly died! I needed you!” Veronica exclaimed watching as her mother avoided her eyes._

_“It’s complicated Veronica. You wouldn’t understand.” Lianne said looking down at her lap._

_“Complicated. Yeah. Sure. Why are you back then? Why don’t you keep running?” Veronica shouted waiting for her mom to react, but she never did only sat there and stared at her legs._

_“Who’s the father, Veronica? Not Duncan, right? Please tell me not Duncan.” Lianne said ignoring her daughter’s questions._

_Veronica stared at her and opened her mouth and then closing it not knowing what to say._

_“I am.” Logan said finally speaking up._

_Lianne looked over at him as if seeing him for the first time. She let out a breath and then looked back at Veronica who was holding Logan’s hand._

_“Why did you leave?” Veronica whispered staring down at Logan’s and her joined hands._

_“I told you it’s complicated.” Lianne said again._

_Suddenly Veronica shot up and dragged Logan with her into her room shutting the door as loudly as possible. She went over to her bed and without being asked Logan curled up beside her and held her as she cried until she fell asleep._

 

* * *

 

“Earth to Mars.” Logan said waving a hand in front of Veronica’s eyes.

She shook her head out of her flashback and looked over at him with a smile.

“What’s up Echolls?” she asked as he sat beside her.

“So—“ he began to say, but was cut off by someone sitting across from them.

Veronica and Logan looked over to the presence of a new person shocked.

“Can I sit here?” Wallace asked looking between them nervously.

“Oh. Uh…Sure.” Veronica said looking over at Logan who shrugged.

“Cool. Thanks.” He said taking a bit of some mystery food. “I just wanted to thank both of you for helping me. That was really cool what you did.” Wallace said smiling at both of them.

“Not a problem.” Logan said looking over at Veronica who nodded.

“So do you guys like helping new kids or what? Are you like private detectives?” Wallace asked jokingly.

“We’re PIs.” Veronica said smiling.

“Or Private Dicks as Ronnie here likes to say.” Logan said nudging his girlfriend.

“You know you two aren’t very well liked.” Wallace said after a moment.

“Really and here I thought I was Miss Popular.” Veronica said trying to be serious.

“And I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I am the King of Neptune High or better known to the lesser people as the Obligatory Jackass of Neptune.” Logan said making Wallace look between them incredulously.

 “I’m just saying you should hear the way people talk about you two.” He said after a minute.

“We used to be popular but our beauty and witty dispositions scared people away.” Veronica mused.

“I’m still popular I just like slumming it. I’m just not well liked by the peasants of Neptune.” Logan said honestly.

“I don’t know if that’s still true anymore.” Veronica said quietly as she saw Logan’s friends walking towards their table with determined looks.

“Looks like we have company.” Veronica murmured as the 09ers came up to the table.

“What’s the deal, Logan? Is this a new reality show called, My Skank?” Dick snapped glaring at Veronica.

Logan stared at him for a moment before standing up and getting in Dick’s face. “Goodbye Dick.” Logan said and then raised his voice. “This is an open invitation to anyone who doesn’t like my girlfriend! If you don’t respect or like Veronica then you’re pretty much dead to me so just like evaporate of something. Disappear.” Logan said making a fly away motion with his hands.

The 09ers stared at him in awe for a moment before Madison spoke up behind Dick.“You’re seriously going to date a pregnant girl! That’s so white trash, Logan. You can do better.” Madison said rolling her eyes.

Logan glanced back at Veronica and gave her a gentle smile before turning back to Madison. “Newsflash Sinclair, its not white trash when you’re the father.” Logan said before turning around and taking Veronica’s hand leaving the entire quad with gapping mouths. The two walked into the building together hand in hand with Wallace trailing after them not knowing what to say. He had a feeling he just made two very interesting friends to say the least.

Wallace left them to go to his locker sensing they needed a moment alone before the gossip spread and he needed a moment to fully take in the two friends he’d made. Logan and Veronica went to her locker and then his. Logan seemed like he was leading up to something as she got her books out and finally she voiced her worries.

“Do you regret it?” she asked quietly referring to telling everyone he was the father.

He smirked, “not yet. Ask me again after next period.”

She frowned, “you didn’t—“

“Relax, Mars, it was a quip.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but let it go.

“Dad invited you to dinner.” Logan finally said as she finished putting her stuff in her bag.

Veronica stiffened and looked over at him anxiously. “Why?”

“He wants to discuss the rise and fall of Castro. Why do you think? The baby, Ronnie.” Logan said fidgeting.

“Oh. Um…should I ask my parents?”

Logan shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ll ask. I think he just wants to see what our plans are you know and probably get the story right if the press decides to corner us.”

She winced, “Sounds delightful. When?”

“Tomorrow night.”

She frowned and groaned, “eh…my parents can’t tomorrow. My dad has to work late.”

“What about your mom?”

Veronica gave him a look and he nodded.

“Right. Ok. Well then it’ll just be us I guess…” Logan trailed off nervousness still in his voice.

Veronica put a hand on his arm and smiled softly at him trying to get him to calm down.

“It’ll be fine. What could happen during dinner?” she said trying to sooth him.

Logan nodded not quite relaxed, but he knew that if Veronica was going to be with him it would be fine. His dad wouldn’t lose his temper if Veronica was there. She was right it would just be a quiet dinner the four of them and they would talk about the future. What was the worst that could happen?


	16. The Bracelet

Chapter 16 The Bracelet

Veronica fidgeted nervously at Logan’s door. She hardly was able to get through the day due to her nerves of having to dinner with the Echolls. She had been over to the house multiple times, but never had she had dinner with them. Having dinner with them was scary and surreal. 

She also couldn’t help thinking about the abuse she now knew was being done to Logan. She couldn’t see Aaron Echolls as the family man anymore and now saw him as a monster especially after she saw the damage for herself. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get through the dinner without lashing out at the aging actor or trying to defend Logan.

She knew the dinner was probably going to be a disaster, but at least she had Logan. She always had Logan.

“Hey, come in.” the man in question said opening the door to the nervous blonde.

Veronica gave me an uneasy smile and stepped inside. Right as she stepped over the threshold the smell of meat cooking hit her nostrils and she clamped a hand over her mouth and ran to the nearest bathroom. She could hear Logan calling after her, but all she could think about was getting to the bathroom and hopefully avoiding him seeing her throw up.

She had no such luck though as she bowed down to the white porcelain God and felt her hair being pulled out of her way. She didn’t have to look up to know it was Logan to the rescue. When she was finished she whipped her mouth on the back of her hand and got up on unsteady legs. She glanced over at the boy that got her into the mess and then went over to the sink to wash her face and rinse her mouth out. Without being asked he held a bottle of Listerine out for her and she rinsed her mouth out with the bacteria killer. When she was done she turned to him fully and gave him a gentle smile.

“Let’s go to the pool house until dinner’s finished.” He said taking her hand and pulling her quickly through the house. Veronica held her breath as they dashed across the mansion and finally took a breath as they got into the backyard the pool house a few feet away.

“I’m sorry I should’ve told Mrs. Navarro no meat.”

“I can eat it, but smelling it cooking it or touching it is a whole other story.” She said with a sad sigh.

He gave her a sympathetic look and kissed her forehead putting an arm around her.

“We’ll get you and the little vegetarian into the pool house and then I’ll grab you some water. How does that sound?” Logan asked as he led her into the pool house. 

She nodded and sat at the edge of the bed before stretching out and curling up on her side. Logan kissed her on the top of her head before whispering that he’d be right back.

Veronica looked at the wall willing her stomach to quit churning so she could make it without incident through dinner. She put a gentle hand to her stomach and touched the small bump that was slowly forming.

“Come on. Let mommy get through this unscathed.” Veronica whispered feeling an odd emotion at addressing herself as ‘mommy.’ She felt simultaneously scared and elated at how she was going to be a mom. She knew it was too soon, but everything seemed to be working out well enough. For now at least.

“Please.” Veronica mumbled rubbing her small bump and rolling half on her side and half on her stomach. She stared down at the floor her hand absently rubbing her tummy.

She frowned when she saw something shiny sticking out of under the bed. She reached down to investigate the shiny object and picked up a long thin bracelet with the initials ‘LK’ embedded into the silver. Veronica stared at it for a moment not knowing what to think. 

She was seeing her dead best friend’s bracelet and she knew this was a clue, but the evidence wasn’t adding up for her. What was she missing? She asked herself holding the bracelet tightly with one hand while the other remained on her stomach. She thought about why Lilly’s bracelet could be in the Echoll’s pool house. She knew that Logan and her used to fool around out here so it wouldn’t be too weird, but still she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else. Something she was missing and she didn’t like that feeling. 

She rolled fully onto her back and looked up at the ceiling contemplating bringing the bracelet up to Logan. As she stared at the ceiling she saw something reflecting back at her in the ceiling fan. She thought it was a hidden camera, but how weird would that be? She had to be wrong. 

Struggling to her knees Veronica looked closer at the ceiling fan and then followed the wires to the back of the bookcase in front of her. She climbed off the bed and walked to the bookcase. She stared at it for a moment before reaching her hand out to it.

“See something you like?” A voice said behind her.

Veronica jumped and turned around to face the person in the doorway. Aaron Echolls stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. It was somewhere between dark and trying to come off as the caring father, or maybe she was now biased towards him on how he treated Logan. 

All she could see was him beating Logan and now his image of the perfect doting father was shattered for her. She subtly slipped the bracelet into her back pocket and with the other hand put it subconsciously on her small bump. She felt the need to protect her child not just from Aaron, but from everything he represented.

“Hi Mr. Echolls.” She said for lack of anything better to say. ‘Go to hell’ probably was off the table.

“Veronica please we’re going to be family soon call me Aaron.” Aaron said walking towards her. 

Veronica tried to smile back, but the way he was looking at her was making her skittish.

“So did you find something you like?” he asked coming to stand beside her eyeing the books on the shelf and then turning to her with a guarded expression.

“Yeah I love that one.” Veronica said grabbing the first book she saw. She wasn’t even sure of the title, but her instincts told her to lie. “Really inspirational.” She added   
trying to keep the conversation light.

Aaron gave her a smarmy smile. “Yeah, I used it for research on one of my roles.”

“Neat.” Veronica said looking everywhere, but at him.

“Logan asked me to come get you. He had to set the table. Here’s your water.” Aaron said handing Veronica a water bottle.

She gave him a tentative smile and held the bottle tightly in her hand. The two stared at each other Aaron eyeing her and Veronica feeling scrutinized under his gaze. 

She wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, but she did know she was beyond uncomfortable.

“I just wanted to apologize for what I said when we found out…the situation.” Aaron began taking a deep breath. He took a step back and walked over to the bed and sat down running a hand through his perfect movie-star hair.

“It’s fine.” Veronica choked out her mind conjuring up the image of Logan on the bed motionless, broken and bruised after what his father did. She wondered how long it had been going on how many times she could’ve helped him. She wondered if she was doing the right thing in not telling her father, but she knew she had to take down Aaron Echolls. Logan didn’t deserve the beatings no matter how much of a jackass he could be. But he was her jackass and she cared about him more than she thought possible. Every time he returned to this place she worried that Aaron would take it too far and her boyfriend would end up like Lilly. 

“I shouldn’t have said those things. Logan’s a good kid, he just messes up a lot especially since Lilly’s death.” Aaron paused for a moment letting that sink in. She wasn’t sure what to make of his statement, but she knew it wasn’t a compliment. “I want to make sure that you know you are welcome within this family. It’s not an ideal situation, but I thought having dinner would be a good start to clear the air.” Aaron said staring at her.

Veronica nodded not knowing what else to say. “Ok.” She said simply. 

Aaron nodded and got off the bed. He gave her a big smile, “Great. Now that, that’s done lets eat. Logan said you can’t be around the smell of meat so we’re eating outside.” Aaron said ushering her out of the pool house.

Veronica stiffened as she felt Aaron’s hand on her back and she felt the urge to run and vomit again this time for an entirely different reason. She felt dirty and tainted and she made a mental reminder to take a scolding hot shower when she got home. She didn’t know what it was, but being around Logan’s dad creeped her out.   
Maybe it was the knowledge of the abuse or maybe it was something else. 

“Veronica! It’s so nice to see you!” Lynn said coming out of the house and going straight to the little blonde for a hug.

“How are you feeling? Logan said the baby is healthy!” Lynn gushed leading her to a seat.

Logan came out of the house then with a salad followed by Mrs. Navarro with some other food dishes. Veronica offered to help, but Mrs. Navarro waved her away.

“I’m feeling as good as to be expected.” Veronica said answering Lynn’s question.

“We have a doctor’s appointment next week.” Logan added helping himself to some food.

Veronica followed suit feeling extremely ill at ease with the Echolls. She felt a hand on her thigh and looked up at Logan sitting beside her. She gave him a smile   
feeling settled for the first as she walked through the door. She laced their fingers together on her leg and began to eat the delicious food Mrs. Navarro had cooked.

“So are you two going to find out if it’s a boy or a girl?” Aaron asked looking between the teens.

“We want a surprise.” Logan said.

“Surprise? Huh. Don’t you think this is enough of a surprise as is?” Aaron asked narrowing his eyes.

“Have you discussed names?” Lynn asked excitedly.

“Not yet. I think we’re still trying to get over the shock.” Veronica said quietly.

“I understand that. When I was pregnant with Logan though it went by so quickly! I couldn’t believe how quick nine months went. You’re about to be in your second trimester, right?” Lynn asked drinking more of her wine than eating her food.

“Yeah I’m fourteen weeks.” 

“And when are you going shopping for maternity clothes? I tried to stay in regular clothes as long as possible, but it was so damn uncomfortable I’m sure you could imagine. Take it from someone who’s done this. Get maternity clothes as soon as possible you’ll never go back.” Lynn said making Veronica laugh.

“I can imagine. It’s already hard to fit into some of my clothes. I keep meaning to go shopping, but I…” Veronica trailed off feeling embarrassed for some reason at having no one to go shopping with.

“What about your mother? Or your father? How do they feel about this?” Aaron asked stabbing a piece of meat and looking between Logan and Veronica. “I’m sure they aren’t too happy, especially the sheriff.” Aaron chuckled drinking some wine.

“They aren’t thrilled, but we’re getting through it.” Veronica said vaguely. 

“That’s understandable. I’m sure neither or your parents are happy, I mean it was quite a shock for us. But I’m sure your mother’ll probably go shopping with you.” Lynn said helpfully.

Logan and Veronica exchanged looks.

“Mom’s been…sick lately. I don’t want to burden her.” Veronica said lamely.  
Lynn nodded sympathetically, “well if you’d like I’d be happy to go with you. Maybe we can look at baby stuff too. Has anyone planned your shower yet?” Lynn asked eagerly.

Veronica gulped not knowing how to respond. She liked Lynn a lot and wouldn’t mind the shopping partner, but the more questions she was asking the more Veronica felt like bolting from the dinner table. She was making her nervous with all of the questions. She was already scared to have a baby, but Lynn was reminding her of everything she had yet to do. Names, clothes, baby stuff, actually taking care of a baby, how was she supposed to do it all. She felt Logan squeeze her hand and she was reminded that at least she had Logan, she’d always have Logan.

“Not yet.” Veronica admitted.

Lynn frowned, “well allow me then. We’re going to be family after all and how about we go shopping this weekend? We can go up to San Diego or LA.” Lynn added ignoring the sounds from both Aaron and Logan.

“Lynn we’re supposed to be having dinner with—“ Aaron began to say.

Lynn gave him a pointed look. “Aaron, I’m making sure your grandchild is going to have everything their heart desires. You can go have dinner without me. I want to make sure everything’s perfect for when the baby comes. I was thinking we could turn one of the guest bedrooms into a nursery.” Lynn began to gush again. She turned to look at Veronica with a grin, “So this weekend?”

Veronica tried to smile her focus being on ‘their guest bedroom’ she hadn’t even considered where the baby would be living. She assumed with her, but Logan would want the baby some of the time too. They had a lot to talk about. “Sounds good.” She said weakly.

Lynn grinned, “Fantastic!” she exclaimed.

“Lynn look at their faces. You’re scaring them. They have months to go.” Aaron said giving her a dark look.

“They need to know what they are getting into. A baby is a lot of work and besides like I said the time goes quickly.” Lynn said then turned to her son.

“Logan can come too. We can go to some of the baby boutiques in San Diego or LA and get a crib and see about coloring for the nursery.” Lynn began to list of all of the stuff they would need and Veronica felt the pressure on her hand intensify. She knew Logan was just as nervous as she was. She could feel a headache coming on, but she knew this was going to happen eventually so why not now when they still had tons of time to plan.

“I have the perfect idea. Let’s all go to San Diego for the entire weekend instead of just driving up for one day! That way we can take all the time we need. We can go shopping and then pick out baby stuff. It’ll be nice to get away for awhile too.” Lynn said taking their girl’s day out plans to a whole new level.

Logan and Veronica looked at each other unsure of what to say. “I have to ask my dad, but that sounds fun.” Veronica said eventually looking into Lynn’s excited face.   
It was impossible to say no to this woman.

“Wonderful!” Lynn gushed clapping her hands together.

“So I’m supposed to go have dinner by myself with my agent and his wife? I’ll look like a fool! Lynn you know I just got signed to do a sequel…” Aaron began to talk about himself, whine about not being included, but also going into his next big movie with gusto wanting to show off.

Veronica tuned out for the remainder of the family dinner not caring much about Aaron’s career. In fact she was thinking more about the bracelet burning a hole in the back of her pocket and Aaron’s odd behavior in the pool house. She also thought about what Aaron had stopped her from opening. There was something big underneath the surface she just had to figure out what.

Once dinner was finished her and Logan went up to his room to finish their project that was due the following Monday. At least that was the pretense they had used to get away from awkward after dinner conversation.

“Wow.” Logan said collapsing on his bed and rubbing a hand across his face.

“Don’t I now it.” She mumbled sitting beside him.

Neither of them knew what to say their brains full of baby information and how many things they had to do before their nine months were up. Veronica looked around his room her eyes stopping on the baby books on his bedside table. She smiled when she saw bookmarks sticking out of each one. So he hadn’t just been saying that he had read them. He was actually reading them. She felt her heart swell a bit at that knowledge. 

“I’m sorry my mom roped you into going out of town this weekend.” Logan said suddenly sitting up and looking at her.

She shook her head, “I don’t mind. I need new clothes and I don’t want to ask my mom to go with me…” she trailed off not wanting to go into specifics. Logan knew why.

“Logan, did you and Lilly ever do anything in the pool house before she died?” Veronica asked suddenly making him give her a funny look.

“Do we really have to talk about this right now? I feel overwhelmed after the dinner from hell.”

“It wasn’t that bad. No food was thrown or heads bitten off.” Veronica snarked.

Logan chuckled, “Yeah until you leave. I’m sure I did something to piss the old man off. Hell my mom pissed him off by setting up that trip to San Diego. I’m sure somehow it’s my fault. He was looking mighty pleasant when you guys came out of the pool house too. What did you guys talk about anyway? You looked…off.” Logan said turning to look at her in concern. His eyes widened and began to look at the pieces of skin he could. 

“He didn’t—He didn’t…hurt you, did he?” Logan stuttered looking into her eyes to see the emotions that lay within. He felt fear for her and anger knowing what his father was capable of. He touched her lightly to comfort himself in the knowledge that she was here with him and not in danger.

Veronica shook her head vehemently. “No, no. He just…I couldn’t help, but think about…everything.” She admitted looking away.

Logan frowned, “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I just mean now when I look at him I can’t help but see him…” she trailed off unable to finish her sentence.

Logan stared at her for a moment before it dawned on him. He stood up and ran a hand through his hair avoiding looking at her. “Don’t pity me Veronica.” He spat suddenly his demeanor turning prickly.

“I don’t pity you Logan. I hate him and I can’t help but see the image of you laying there that night. I can’t help, but wonder what else I never saw or clues I never picked up on. Do you realize I could’ve helped you long before if you had just told me? If I could tell me dad—“

“No! Don’t tell your dad. Just don’t.” Logan yelled suddenly his temper flaring.

Veronica stared at him and he stared back at her. Both angry at the other for not doing what they wanted them to.

“I want to help and my dad can.” She finally said.

“Maybe I don’t want anyone’s help. Maybe I can just suck it up for the next two years and deal with it like I should.” Logan said darkly.

“No one should have to deal with this, Logan. It’s not right! And what about our kid? Do you want them subjected to the same thing?” Veronica snapped angry that he wanted to do this by himself when she could help him. This argument was turning into a familiar one something she didn’t like.

“He won’t be. I won’t allow it.” Logan said in the same dark tone.

Veronica got up and walked to him placing her hand on his face. “You don’t deserve this, Logan. What he’s doing is wrong and I want to stop him, but I won’t do it without you.” she said.

Logan closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Either of you.”

“And I have a plan that involves no hurting of baby or me, promise.” Veronica said.

Logan sighed and opened his eyes looking down at her imploring the plan.

Veronica smiled sensing she was winning. “I—“

“I’ll make you a deal.” He said interrupting her.

She frowned, but waited for what he had to say. 

“We help do something about me dad, but you tell your dad about the paternity and open the envelope.” He said giving her a look.

Veronica stepped back and gulped not knowing how to react. “Logan…”

“It’s the only way. I face my demons. You face yours.” Logan said giving her an intense look that made her stomach turn to butterflies.

She stared at him and then looked out the window considering. The envelope was burning a hole in its hiding spot and she knew she couldn’t run forever. She had also finally broke down and told Logan about how she’d gotten a kit and had the results. She just couldn’t open it. She also desperately wanted Logan to do something about his father. They both had to deal with unwanted situations so why not do it together. 

“When I’m here your dad leave you alone, right?” she said suddenly looking over at him thinking about what he had said earlier.

Logan frowned not knowing where her train of thought was going. “What does that have to do with anything?” he asked annoyed she was changing the subject.

“Maybe if I was around more then he’d leave you alone more, right?” she asked looking up at him. “I mean for the time being until we put the plan into action.”

Logan sighed and rubbed a hand across his face, “Yeah I guess, but like I said I want to keep you and the parasite safe.”

“Parasite, really Logan? I like little vegetarian better.” Veronica asked titling her head and giving him a look.

He smirked, “We just learned about them in bio. Besides little vegetarian is too long.”

“Our kid isn’t a parasite.”

Logan shrugged, “We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl and I don’t wanna call it an it.” 

Veronica shook her head ignoring his lame logic. “Then call the baby little vegetarian! That’s cute!”

“I don’t want the parasite getting any ideas.” He said smirking.

She rolled her eyes and gave up for the time being. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t answer mine.” He countered his smirk widening.

“Fine.” Veronica said with a sigh.

“Ok let’s put the plan in motion and meanwhile you can come over as much as you and the parasite desire.” 

“Don’t call the baby a parasite.” Veronica grumbled moving towards him.

Logan laughed and pulled her into his arms giving her a gentle kiss on her pouty lips.

When he moved back she moved forward bringing him back down to her and planting a passionate kiss on his lips. She felt like they hadn’t kissed in forever. Every   
kiss with Logan was special and always left her wanting more. She could feel his kisses all over her body making her tingle and crave the intimacy he provided. Her stomach was hot and fluttering as his tongue dipped into her mouth.

He grinned pulling back for air and then diving in again enjoying the sensation of her lips on his. It always surprised him kissing Veronica. He had forever thought of her as virginal and sweet, but the longer they spent around each other and they more they kissed and the one time they had, had sex he realized she could keep up with him and maybe she wasn’t as innocent as he always thought. He wanted to sleep with her again, but he also wanted to take their relationship slow besides they had never really talked about what had happened between them that night and he wanted to make sure that the next time they did it, it was perfect. She was the perfect mix of sexy and innocent. She was an enigma and kissing her made his insides turn to warm goo. 

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her gently to the bed making sure she was on top. Their tongues tangled together and their hands were fisted in each other’s hair. She rubbed her body against his and before they could take it too far Logan pulled back knowing they still had project stuff to do. With reluctance on both of their parts they finished their project and Veronica went home. All the while her question of why Lilly’s bracelet was in the pool house never being answered. She had a few mysteries to work out and she knew that the secrets would be dug up they always were with her around.


	17. The Vacation

Chapter 17 The Vacation

Each book added to the weight of her load as she crammed it in her messenger bag. She grunted as she stuffed the last book she’d need for her weekend homework in her bag and then turned around to exit with the rest of the students when she bumped into someone standing right behind her.

She looked up an apology on the tip of her tongue when she saw it was Duncan looking down at her uneasily. They stared at each other for a moment before Duncan cleared his throat and looked at her locker.

“I was wondering if we could talk.” He said ignoring the looks of the students milling around them.

Veronica nodded and he led her into the journalism room that was near her locker. Veronica stood by the table and set her bag down watching Duncan walk around the room and then come to stand beside her looking nervous.

“So where have you been? I haven’t seen much of you around.” She said breaking the silence.

“I’ve kind of been avoiding you and Logan.” Duncan admitted sheepishly.

Veronica nodded, “I figured. You haven’t been taunting me with the rest of the school.”

“Veronica you know I would never do that.” he said effectively making the room go silent.

“So how are you?” he asked finally breaking the silence.

Veronica shrugged, “I’m just happy people have stopped pointing and whispering.”

“They’re still doing that.” Duncan pointed out.

She smiled sadly, “well I was doing a good job of ignoring it.”

“I think you and Logan will be pretty big news for the next few months.” Duncan said giving her a look.

She glared and stood up straighter, “Is that why you asked to talk so you could tell me I was being gossiped about? I’m aware of this. The constant snickers, name calling, and pregnancy innuendoes don’t exactly blow over my head.”

Duncan sighed and looked away. “I wanted to talk to you about us about what happened at Logan’s.”

“Duncan there is no ‘us’ not anymore and what happened at Logan’s….” She trailed off not really wanting to have this conversation, but there was nothing she could do now.

“I’m sorry if we hurt you, but neither Logan or I did anything wrong. No one was cheated on no one’s hearts were broken it was just…it just happened.” She said looking over at him.

Duncan looked down at the floor unable to meet her eyes. “It broke my heart. When you guys told me I felt…” he trailed off finally looking up to meet her eyes.

“Then why did you break up with me?” Veronica asked wanting to hear exactly why from his mouth. She knew why at this point, but she wanted to hear him say it.

“You’re my sister how could I not break up with you when I found out?” he asked staring at her incredulously.

Veronica looked away not wanting to correct him on the minor technicality that, that might not be true. She didn’t want to get his hopes up if it wasn’t and she didn’t want to get back with him so why correct him.

“I loved you Veronica. I still do and the thought that we’re related…it makes me so sick to even think about especially because I have these feelings and I don’t know what to do with them. I just couldn’t look at you I couldn’t even break up with you because breaking up with you would…it really hurt.” Duncan said hurriedly.

Veronica stared at him not knowing what to say. “Duncan, what’s done is done. I’m pregnant and with Logan now. I don’t know what to say.” She said wrapping her arms around herself.

Duncan stared at her and took a step forward. “I love you Veronica and even—“

“Stop. Please just stop.” Veronica said holding a hand up for him to stop. She closed her eyes not wanting to see him standing in front of her and professing his love. It was sick that he thought they were siblings even worse that she was pregnant. She was living her own soap opera.

“Duncan we’re over. I’m with Logan. I care about Logan and I’m not going to dump him for you.” she said finally opening her eyes and looking at him.

Duncan frowned, “But he’s hurt you. He’s said terrible things about you. He turned the school against you.”

“And now the school’s against him too. Do you know he’s lost most of his friends? That people give him shit for being with me? That he lost is best friend after losing his girlfriend? We’re in this together and he’s stood by me.” She said passionately.

“He’s not right for you and he’s just going to treat you like shit. I bet he didn’t even care about Lilly.” Duncan said grabbing her arm.

She twisted out of his grip and stepped away. “He loved Lilly! How can you even say that!”

“Look what he did with you! She wasn’t even in the ground two—“

“We were hurting! We wanted support and since you weren’t around and she was obviously gone we only had each other! Logan and I were friends too you know! It was a mistake at the time and—“

“If it was such a big mistake then why are you dating him? Why can’t we get back together?” Duncan yelled moving closer to her. She backed away not wanting to be close to him. She knew Duncan had demonstrated before that he wasn’t exactly stable when he got angry. He continued to follow her until she was backed into the table having nowhere else to go.

“Because I don’t love you anymore!” She exclaimed angrily.

Duncan stared at her for a moment stunned before suddenly lunging forward. She moved her head away and tightened her hold on her stomach trying to shield him from doing anything. If she had closed her eyes she would’ve missed Duncan’s attempt to kiss her. He tried to grab her head to move her lips near his, but she resisted and moved under his arms and away from him. She scooped up her bag and ran from the room too afraid to turn back.

She wasn’t sure which was worse the fact Duncan had just tried to kiss her or the fact he didn’t care that they were siblings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the argument with Duncan Veronica went straight over to Logan’s. After much persuasion to get her dad to agree they had discussed leaving that night to San Diego. She had her bag in the car and if her dad was home she would’ve stopped to say ‘goodbye’ but he was at work and her mom was home probably passed out on the couch and she had no desire to see that. Instead she had said ‘goodbye’ to her dad in the morning and promised not to do anything stupid and to call him everyday. Her mom on the other hand she doubted even knew her daughter was going away for the weekend.

Veronica drove out of the school and pulled to the side of the road to pull herself together. She was shaking like a leaf and if she showed up at Logan’s like this he would immediately go out on the hunt. She needed to get herself together before going to face Logan and so she put her head on the wheel and took several deep breaths before she felt well enough to start driving again. 

As she drove she considered what to say to Logan to explain the situation. She didn’t want to ruin the weekend, but she also didn’t want to hide this from him. She was planning on asking about the bracelet and now Duncan, but she was afraid she’d ruin the entire weekend. She wondered if she should wait and bring it up when they got back to Neptune, but she didn’t want to hide this stuff from him. She wanted him to be honest with her so she needed to be honest back. Honesty was huge with her and if she couldn’t follow that then what else could she count on?

She pulled into the Echoll’s estate to see Logan packing up his car since it would be better to drive than his mother’s convertible. She plastered on a smile as she got out of the car her own small duffle bag and messenger back over her shoulder.

“Now, now Ms. Mars let me take that. You shouldn’t be carrying anything.” Logan said hurrying towards her to take her stuff.

She rolled her eyes, “I’m not glass, Logan I can carry my own stuff.”

“But why should you when you have such a doting boyfriend to do it for you.” He said putting her small overnight bag in the back and then opening the backseat and putting her messenger in there. As he put her stuff in the back he felt two small arms wrap around him and hug him from behind. He stiffened the motion rubbing against new wounds, but the gesture touched his heart. He touched her arms wrapped around him and then shifted around so that they were face to face.

“Hi.” He said touching her face delicately.

She smiled sadly at him before leaning up and kissing him gently on the lips. She pulled back and looked into his eyes seeing the intense emotions that always set her insides on fire. “Hi.” She said back.

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her again only to be interrupted by his mother walking out with a pair of shades on.

“Are you guys ready?” she asked making them break apart in embarrassment. Lynn grinned and moved to get into the backseat.

“I thought you were sitting in the front.” Logan said frowning.

“This is your trip I’m just here for advice besides I want to take a nap. Veronica you don’t mind the front, right?” Lynn asked moving her bag up front.

Veronica shook her head, “No that’s fine.”

Lynn nodded, “great now let’s go.”

Logan saluted and took Veronica by the hand so he could help her into the car much to her protests and then they started off for San Diego. Lynn fell asleep almost immediately and after checking to make sure she was actually asleep Veronica turned to Logan and grabbed his hand lacing their fingers together.

“Are you ok?” she asked quietly.

He glanced at her, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you winced when I hugged you and you’re being careful not to rub your back against the seat.” She observed.

Logan sighed and looked over at her with a mix of annoyance for being caught and worry to hear what she had to say.

“It’s nothing, Ronnie.” He mumbled.

“Logan—“

“Can we talk about this once we get there?” he asked shooting a look in the backseat at his mother.

Veronica nodded, “Yeah sure.” She said knowing they had a lot to talk about once they got to San Diego. She’d just add Aaron to the growing list that contained Lilly’s bracelet, Duncan, and all of the baby stuff they had to decide on. This vacation wasn’t so vacation like anymore and more of a long list of things they needed to do to clear the air type of thing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

They arrived around eight at the hotel and Lynn check in for them. She had packed vague disguises for them to wear so the Paparazzi couldn’t identify who they were. Veronica smiled at Logan through her large floppy hat as they rode up in the elevator to the top floor hotel suite that Lynn had booked. Keith had offered to pay for Veronica’s room, but Lynn had declined. She had rented the presidential suite that had two bedrooms with attached bathrooms, a living room, a balcony, and a breakfast nook. Lynn immediately went into her bedroom stating that she was tired and needed her rest for tomorrow’s adventure. She gave a key to both Veronica and Logan and then she went into the bedroom to rest.

Veronica and Logan looked at each other uneasily. 

“I should call me dad.” She said finally setting the overnight bag on the couch and the messenger bag beside it. She told her dad that they had arrived safely and that no she and Logan weren’t sleeping in the same bed. She asked how her mom was and got a vague reply in return. Once she was off the phone she looked over at Logan who had been watching her.

“Do you wanna go to the pool?” Logan asked eventually. 

Veronica grinned, “Sure lets go.” She said looking at her suitcase and then up at Logan. She then looked towards the other bedroom uneasily not having anticipated that Lynn would’ve gotten a room with only two bedrooms. She blushed slightly at the thought of sleeping with Logan. They were still very much in the beginnings of their relationship with hand holding, kissing, and over the shirt stuff. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to sleep with him she just didn’t know how he felt about it. She didn’t know how to bring it up either so instead all they did was kiss and avoid the S-E-X issue.

“We’re staying in the same room?” she asked instead of digging through her suitcase for her swimsuit like Logan was doing.

He looked up registering the uncomfortable look on her face. “I can sleep out here if you want.” He said sensing how she was feeling about sharing a bed with him. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. I mean we’re dating it’s normal. Normal people sleep in the same bed. You don’t have to do that. I’m fine. Completely. Totally. A-ok.” She rambled.

He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok, Ronnie I can sleep out here.” He said tilting her face up so he could look into her eyes more clearly.

She gave him a slight smile looking into his intense brown eyes. “Let’s just go swimming.” She said grabbing her suitcase and messenger bag before Logan could and dumping them in the room. 

She rummaged for a few minutes and then pulled out a blue bikini. It that had been a little too big for her and now was perfect. She had tried it on the night before trying to find something that fit. She changed quickly while Logan changed in the bathroom and then they met back in the living room. They both had towels over their arms and Veronica wore a t-shirt to cover her bathing suit. As the stood there looking at each other Veronica couldn’t help, but let her eyes roam Logan’s chiseled plains. As she stared at his broad shoulders and slowly worked her way down to the taut sinew she couldn’t help but lick her lips as her eyes focused on the little trail of hair that dipped down into his swimsuit.

“See something you like?” Logan said smirking at the lust reflecting in her blue eyes.

Her eyes snapped away from ogling his muscled body and focused on the chipping pink nail polish on her toes.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” She said giving him a teasing smile before tugging on his arm and pulling him out of the suite. As they got nearer to the elevator and Logan turned around Veronica gasped when she saw the newly formed cuts on his back. She yanked on his hand to get him to stop, but as if sensing what she wanted to talk about he continued walking.

“Why?” she voiced when they got into the elevator. Thankfully they were the only ones.

He focused on not looking at her instead staring straight ahead.

“You know why.” He said softly.

“Logan this has to stop. I don’t like seeing you hurt.” She whispered not looking up at him.

He finally broke his staring contest with the elevator door and looked down at her.

“I’m fine Veronica. It’s only a little while longer.” He said squeezing her hand in his.

“Can you tell me why?” she asked again.

“You know why. He wasn’t fond of mom’s idea.” He said nonchalantly.

“You don’t deserve this, Logan. What makes you think you do?” she asked placing a hand on his face to turn him to her. “You’re—“ she began, but broke off when the elevator doors opened and a family came into the elevator dressed to go to dinner. Polite smiles were exchanged and then they hit the ground floor where the pool was. Logan pulled Veronica away towards the pool and thankfully they were the only ones present. 

The couple put their things down on a beach chair and slipped their shoes off. Logan jumped in quickly wanting to get into the water before Veronica decided to talk about his gashes again. 

Veronica on the other hand took a longer time feeling self conscious at her new weight. She slowly peeled off her shirt and went to the ladder to carefully get in. She was paying so much attention to getting into the pool she didn’t notice Logan staring at her.

The last time they’d gone swimming together it was before Lilly died and Veronica was tiny. Now she was just as tiny, but she had a baby bump now. He was starting to be able to see it through her clothes, but seeing her in a bikini was so different. Something within him stirred at the knowledge that something that was half him and half her was growing inside of her. The little bump she was sporting was evidence of what was blossoming between them. The changes in her body were noticeable too. Her breasts were nearly popping out of her blue bikini top and the sight of her looking so perky and luscious in the bikini was making his nether regions harden. He gulped as she waded over to him her boobs floating very nicely in the water. He wanted to push her against the wall and have his dirty way with her, but they hadn’t gone beyond kissing at this point. Well besides the obvious, but he didn’t want to do anything until she was ready. He was determined not to ruin what they had.

“Hey.” She said coming to stand beside him on her tiptoes. Her head was bobbing in the water. He chuckled and enveloped her into his arms in response she wrapped his legs around him. He could feel her warmth through his bathing suit and he knew he should push her away, but she was so warm and soft how could he say no to Veronica Mars.

“That bikini’s working for you.” his voice coming out horse. He looked away shyly knowing she could probably feel him through her own bathing suit.

“Don’t mock, Logan I feel like a whale.” She grumbled her arms enclosing around his neck.

Logan rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss her. “You’re beautiful don’t think differently.” He said shortly before walking them over to the deeper end of the pool.

She smiled softly feeling warmed by his comment. “You’re not bad to look at either.”

“Was that a compliment Mars? How girlfriendy of you.” he said smirking and drawing her closer.

She laughing and laid her head on his wet shoulder. “I never agreed to be your girlfriend.” She teased.

“Huh. Here I was thinking that we were since we kiss, and you come over for dinner oh yes and you’re pregnant with my kid.” He said giving her a look.

She grinned, “We aren’t dating until I get a stuffed animal won with some sort of your amazing demonstration of ring tossing ability.” She snarked.

He laughed moving in to kiss her on the nose. She smiled and squeezed her legs around him tighter. 

“Well I already won you a bear with my fab ring tossing ability.” He said reminding her of the only stuffed animal on her bed at home. She blushed knowing that he remembered the stuffed animal he’d won her the year before when Duncan had been sick during the Winter Carnival.

“Oh shucks, I guess I’m all yours.” She said tilting her head up to kiss him. As their lips met she forgot everything else like every other time they kissed. If she had been asked her name she wouldn’t have been able to remember it. He just did that to her, made her forget. Her tongue slid into his mouth and she let out little delicious moans that made Logan even harder. He gripped her to him enjoying the taste that was purely Veronica. Their tongues battled for dominance as their kisses heated up until they had to part for air.

“So I’ve been thinking—“ she began but was cut off my Logan’s soft laughter.

“Uh oh. Ladies and Gents she’s been thinking whatever will happen next.” 

She shot him a glare that made him laugh harder.

“I don’t want you to sleep on the couch.” She said talking a little louder so Logan could hear over his laughter. His laughter turned to choking and Veronica unwrapped her legs from around him so she could try and sooth the coughs echoing in the silent pool.

“I mean we can be adults about this. Sleep in the same bed, no problem.” She said staring into his eyes once he stopped coughing. The idea of them sleeping in the same bed had been nagging at her. She wanted to clear the air and as uncomfortable as sleeping with Logan made her she wanted it more than she’d admit out loud at least.

“Yeah we can.” He said gulping and thinking about how he was going to get no sleep with Veronica a mere few inches away.

She smiled, “We can.” She said nodding and then leaning in to kiss him again. They made out until the pool announced they were closing. They gathered their things and went back to their suite. Veronica took a shower first and then Logan followed once she was done. He had to take care of himself so his shower was longer the image of Veronica in that bathing suite burned into his brain. 

When he came out she was curled up working on her computer and spared him a glance as he got into the bed with only a pair of sweatpants on. Her eyes glazed over as stared at him.

“What are you working on?” he asked curiously.

“The private investigation website. I have some requests to do some background checks on parents.” She said a devious look in her eyes.

He chuckled and looked over her shoulder to see who had requested information on their parents.

“Never heard of any of them.” He said with a shrug.

She smiled and closed her computer. “You wouldn’t most of them aren’t 09ers.” She said snuggling up against him. 

“You aren’t doing anything dangerous right? Just giving information?” he asked stroking her hair as she lay on his chest.

“Not yet.” She joked making his arms stiffen around her. “I’m joking Echolls. Come on let’s go to sleep I have a feeling your mom’s going to wake us up early.” She said wrapping her arms around his waist and bringing him as close as could be.

“Don’t remind me.” Logan grumbled turning off the lights and closing his eyes.

“Good night Ronnie.” He mumbled kissing her once more on the lips.

“Night Lo.” She said before they drifted off to sleep with dreams of each other.


	18. The Bliss

Chapter 18 The Bliss

Veronica jerked awake in the dark hotel room the dream she had been having scaring her back to reality. She shimmied closer to Logan the image of Lilly’s dead body and bloody face coming back to her in full throttle. She had been having a nice dream about the beach with the Fab Four when Duncan began to claim he was still in love with Veronica. He lashed out like he had at Logan’s and attacked her. She fell to the ground just in time to see Lilly fall beside her looking bloody and Duncan rocking her body against his. Logan continued to surf none the wiser.

She shuddered as the dream replayed in her head and she wrapped her arms around Logan seeking comfort.

“What’s wrong?” Logan grumbled sensing even in sleep that she wasn’t ok.

“Bad dream.” She mumbled burying her head in the croak of his neck. He leaned down to kiss her sleepily and she responded in kind. She pulled his body closer to hers wanting to feel the comfort he always offered her.

Their kisses went from sleepy and comfort seeking to a consuming passion they only felt together. Veronica’s wondering hands began to go south for the hem of his sweatpants. She could feel him pressing into her thigh and the contact made her shudder all over. She wanted to feel him again inside her the first time had been too quick and grief stricken. She wanted to take her time, she wanted to explore him, see where his weak spots were, and hear him moan. She wanted to make him as happy as he made her.

“What are you doing?” he asked sounding more awake.

“I think we should have sex. Again.” She blurted out looking up at him through the dark 

“What? Now?” he gasped as she began to kiss a trail down his neck and to his chest. She noted that he didn’t stop her from moving south until she reached the trail of hair that descended into his pants.

“Veronica do you really want to do this?” he asked worry etched into his voice. She didn’t respond instead pulling the waistband of his sweatpants down and taking note that Logan was going commando. She smiled and then looked up at him making sure his eyes were on her she leaned down and blew slightly on his harden cock before beginning to take him into her mouth.

He shuddered as she began to bop her head her hand aiding in the process to the part of his cock she couldn’t fit entirely into her mouth. She licked the underside of his shaft making him impossibly harder and moan loudly.

“Veronica shouldn’t we talk about this?” he breathed as she moved her other hand from his thigh and began to play with his balls. She ignored him and continued the process enjoying the sounds coming from Logan’s mouth. Right as he felt like he was about to come he yanked her up by her arm and flipped them over. He looked into her eyes taking in the lust spilling out of them.

Logan stared at her, “Is this what you really want?” 

She gave him an ‘are you serious’ look. 

“I like the pace we’ve been going its promising.”

She sighed and looked away trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, “Do you not want to have sex with me? Am I unattractive because I’m pregnant?” she asked worriedly.

Logan laughed darkly, “No you’re the complete opposite. I want to have sex with you all the time. You’re so beautiful and I just…Why do you want to rush it? Where’s this coming from?” he asked.

She looked away not knowing how to answer the question. When she looked back up at him he had morphed into Duncan staring at her like he had in the classroom.

“I love you Veronica why can’t we be together?” he asked.

“No!” She screamed just as she bolted out of the bed waking from her dream. She blinked rapidly taking in the blinding sunlight in the room. She looked frantically around for Logan, but he wasn’t in bed beside her. She whipped the blankets off and began to pace the room too riled up to do anything else. 

“Morning.” Logan said coming into the bedroom with a bagel and a cup of coffee. He took one look at her and knew something was wrong.

“What’s up?” he asked watching as she paced.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” she snapped glancing over at him her dream replaying in her head.

He raised an eyebrow at her tone, “did you sleep ok? You were tossing and turning a lot. I was going to try and relax you, but you hit me pretty hard.” He said rubbing at his arm remembering her punch.

“I’m fine.” she bit out before going to her suitcase and grabbing some clothes, her toothbrush, a brush, and the hair products she brought. She rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door leaving Logan dumbfounded as to what was going on.

He thought about knocking on the door to see if she was ok or wanted breakfast, but he had a feeling she wanted to be left alone. He soon heard the shower and left her to her privacy.

Meanwhile Veronica started the shower in the bathroom but didn’t get in instead sitting on the toilet seat her head between her legs wondering what her subconscious was trying to tell her. 

She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and took several deep breaths. It was just a dream, V, it’s just a dream she told herself concentrating on deep breathing. She knew where parts of the dream had stemmed from. She wanted to have sex with Logan that she knew, but Duncan…Duncan was there because of the guilt she felt when he’d confronted her, right? She felt guilty over Duncan, nothing else. She said she didn’t love him yesterday and that was mostly true. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever fully stop because of him being her first love and all, but she also knew what she felt for Logan was just as strong and that was only after being together for a little while. She cared for Logan just as much if not more. So did she still love Duncan? Or was she just guilty? And what about Logan, did she love him? Was it too soon? 

She cared about him and she liked him a lot. When they kissed she forgot her name for heaven’s sake that had to mean something big, right? When they weren’t together she missed him more than she thought possible and when they were together her stomach was warm and gooey. She wanted to be with Logan not Duncan she knew that. Whatever she was feeling for Logan was a helluva lot stronger than what she felt for Duncan she knew that too. Something big was brewing between her and Logan, something almost Epic. 

She knew she had to tell Logan about yesterday the guilt was eating her inside, even if she didn’t do anything wrong it still felt wrong somehow. She took a deep breath and got off the toilet stripping down and stepping into her shower telling herself she’d tell Logan tonight. It was the right thing to do. Even if she didn’t want to break the bliss they had found together she knew she couldn’t keep this inside. 

Once she was done in the shower they had breakfast together before changing into their disguises and leaving the hotel. She had brought her gift card with her so she could spend some of the money and thankfully they had the same store in San Diego as they did in Neptune. 

The first place they went much to Logan’s chagrin was a maternity store. The entire trip was based on Lynn’s suggestions and to Logan and Veronica’s surprise she took it upon herself to pick out various items for Veronica to try on. Every item Veronica picked up Lynn told her ‘no it would look terrible.’ She told Veronica to avoid some colors and designs since they would make her look awful and some types of designers because their clothes weren’t comfortable.

Once Lynn had filled up their arms with clothes she pushed Veronica into the dressing room and instructed Logan to help her if she needed anything while she went to go see what else they had. 

Logan sat outside the door waiting for Veronica to show him her outfits when he saw two women looking at him oddly.

“Can I help you?” he finally snapped when he saw them whispering.

The one woman blushed, but her friend seemed to be bolder. Neither of them looked very pregnant so Logan assumed they were either with someone else or worked   
there. “Are you a movie star?” she asked looking at him with big flirty eyes.

Logan stared at her for a moment wondering if she was seriously about to flirt with him inside a maternity store. 

“Nope.” Logan said finally popping the ‘p.’ 

“Are you sure? Cause you look famous maybe it’s your great…bone structure.” She purred walking closer to him. 

Logan smirked and opened his mouth to respond when Veronica came out of the dressing room wearing a long dress Lynn had picked out. 

“Logan what do you—“ Veronica began, but stopped when she saw the woman inching towards Logan. She raised an eyebrow at her and then turned to Logan who had a smirk on his face as if he was waiting to see what she would do to this woman.

“Can I help you?” Veronica asked with a fake cheer in her tone eyeing the woman.

The woman cleared her throat and looked back over at her friend who was gathering a bunch of clothes from an empty dressing room. Logan raised an eyebrow coming to the conclusion that the woman worked there.

“No just seeing if your friend wanted some help.” The worker said her flirty expression turning to one of politeness.

“Huh. That’s funny since I could’ve sworn I heard you commenting on his…bone structure, which to me sounds awfully like flirting.” Veronica said taking a step closer to the woman.

The woman stared at her not knowing what to do. 

“Do you work here?” Veronica asked when the woman didn’t respond.

“Yes.” 

“Do you make it a habit to flirt with your customer’s boyfriends?”

The woman blinked rapidly. “I didn’t know he was your boyfriend.”

“Wow, does that actually work? Playing dumb? Or is it natural?” Veronica snapped.

The woman’s eyes widened, “ma’am I was just seeing if he—“

“Sugarpuss, how about you continue trying your clothes on and I’ll get another sales person to help us if you don’t like this one.” Logan said looking over at Veronica.   
He knew he didn’t have to fight her battles for her, but he wanted this weekend to be peaceful sans fighting of any sort.

Veronica narrowed her eyes refusing to back down and continued glaring. “Fine.” she said turning on her heel and walking back into the dressing room. Right as she disappeared Lynn returned with her arms covered in clothes and a sales manager behind her.

“Logan can you give these to Veronica and the manger is going to measure Veronica for a bust size. Oh I’m sorry did you guys already do that?” Lynn said catching sight of the woman who was still a little shaken by the encounter with Veronica.

Logan shook his head and took the clothes from his mother. “No she can do it.” Logan said nodding at the woman who had followed Lynn. The manager narrowed her eyes at the worker beside Logan.

“Missy why don’t you go help people in the front.” She clipped.

The woman hurried off with her friend behind her. When she was gone the manager turned to Logan with an apologetic smile.

“I hope she didn’t bother you. She’s a bit uncontrollable. She’s a good worker, just…friendly.” The woman said and Logan shrugged.

“She mostly just pissed my girlfriend off, but I’m sure that happens a lot.” He said.

The woman nodded, “I’ll talk to her.” She said just as Veronica came out in a pair of maternity jeans and flowing shirt.

“Hi, Veronica my name is Lisa your mother said you needed to be measured for a new bra.” Lisa said giving Veronica a smile.

Veronica blinked confused by the mother reference and then realized she was standing beside Lynn. “Oh she’s not…that’s my boyfriend’s mother.” Veronica stuttered.

Lisa blushed, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize usually first time mom’s come in with their mother’s. I’m sorry.” She said again.

Veronica gave her a tight smile and then opened the door wider. “It’s fine. Come in.” she said as Lisa came into the dressing room.

Lisa measured her quickly and then explained about the different types of bras she could get. Once that was done Veronica tried on the rest of her clothes and then   
they proceeded to buy the large bundle of items before trekking to the baby store to register for items and see what they would need.

Lynn had already proclaimed herself hostess of the baby shower, but since Veronica nor Logan had that many friends at the moment they didn’t really have anyone to invite. But they decided to register anyway and look at the different items they would need. The trip was more of a maternity clothes shopping trip since Veronica would need those sooner, but they also had to see what baby items they would need. Veronica wasn’t ready to buy a crib or any of that stuff, but she wanted to know how much she was going to have to make in her on the side PI job. 

At this point they hadn’t even discussed where the kid was living. Veronica wanted to transform the guest bedroom in her house into a nursery, but since Lianne was home she wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea. On the other hand Aaron was at Logan’s even though Lynn had this idea to make one of their many rooms into a nursery. Veronica didn’t want her kid anywhere near Aaron so they seemed to be between a rock and a hard place.

As they entered the baby boutique Lynn immediately went up to the front since she’d talked to the manager on the phone for registry. 

“Thank God your mom’s here.” Veronica said as they stood frozen in the doorway taking in all the bright baby things.

“I was just thinking that. I have no idea where to start with any of this.” Logan admitted quietly.

Veronica laughed, “Tell me about it.” She sighed.

They were quiet as they began to walk around the store. “So where did sugarpuss come from?” she asked suddenly.

Logan looked over confused and then he remembered what he’d called her in the maternity story. “It just…seemed to fit.” He said smiling softly at her.

“So are we on the cutesy pet names phase now? Did I miss the memo?” she asked.

Logan chuckled threw an arm around her shoulders. “Possibly. I enjoyed your display of possessiveness earlier. Very sexy.” He purred quietly into her ear.

Veronica looked away not wanting him to see the red in her cheeks. “I wasn’t possessive.”

“Fine jealous. Whatever.”

“I wasn’t jealous.”

“You were about ready to pounce.”

“There was no pouncing…yet.” She mumbled moving away from him and going over to an aisle filled with baby bottles.

“Come on, Ronnie you practically had steam coming from your ears if that isn’t jealousy I don’t know what is.” He chuckled as she avoided his gaze by looking at the various bottles.

“Whatever. I just didn’t like the way she was…flirting.” She grumbled refusing to admit she was jealous.

“Keep telling yourself that, but you were definitely jealous.” Logan said wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“I liked it though it was definitely hot, a complete turn on.” He added his breath hot against her ear.

She shivered and leaned back into him her mind going blank on what to say. 

“What no witty comeback?” he purred nipping at her earlobe. 

“So maybe I was slightly jealous.” She admitted sheepishly as he moved from her ear down to her neck sucking gently on the spot that makes her tingle all the way to   
her toes. She’d never tell him though he’d just use it against her.

“Ahhh now she—“ 

“Logan! Veronica! What do you think of these?” Lynn asked coming into the aisle and making both teenagers jump away from each other. Both of them were bright red   
and staring at everything but Lynn.

“They’re cute.” Veronica finally choked out when she focused on what Lynn was holding. 

It was a baby bath.

Lynn looked confused, but let it go. 

“Here’s a list of what you’re going to need this place has most of the things, but there are a few other stores I think we should go to.” She said handing Logan a list of the things they should register for. As his eyes scanned the list they increased in size.

“Wow.” Veronica breathed looking over his shoulder.

“We need all of this?” Logan asked amazed that one tiny creature could need so much.

“Well what did you expect, Logan? Babies need love and care.” Lynn said before taking the scanner she was holding and beginning to start scanning items.

“What are you doing?” Logan asked.

“Scanning the stuff you’ll need. I’ve been doing research about the safest stuff for babies nowadays and how with the plastic—“

“Mom shouldn’t Veronica and I be doing that?” he asked following his mother down each aisle as Veronica trailed after him mentally adding up all the money she was going to need.

“I’m just scanning for suggestions. You guys can look what I scanned later online and decide if you want to keep it. What do you think of this for when you bring the baby home?” Lynn asked holding up an animal printed onesy. 

Logan stared dumbfounded at his mother before turning around to stare at his girlfriend who had the same scared expression on her face.

“Veronica! Come here honey! Let’s talk about cribs!” Lynn said going over to the window where a bunch of different cribs stood that looked more or less the same.

“Have you guys thought about whether you’ll want a baby bath or just do it in the sink? Oh! And what about the kind of stroller you want? I was thinking a bugaboo those are definitely in style. Oh! Veronica come and tell me which crib you want!” Lynn called not noticing either teen’s face slowly turning more and more white.

“What about in the first few months? Now I know the baby will probably stay at Veronica’s since she’ll be breast feeding, but what type of bassinet do you want? Wooden is so very in right now.” Lynn continued as Veronica and Logan stared after her not knowing what to do.

“I can’t believe she’s this baby crazy.” Logan mumbled.

“I don’t know if I’m going to breast feed! I haven’t even read up on it! I don’t know what a bugaboo even is! What the hell is the difference between a bassinet and a crib? Oh my god! I feel a panic attack coming on.” Veronica mumbled dropping her bags she’d bought at the maternity store and dropping into a rocking chair near the cribs. Logan came over and knelt down beside her wanting to comfort her but at a loss as to how. He was just as scared as she was if not more.

“Your mom’s seriously freaking me out.” Veronica mumbled staring down at the list in trepidation.

“Oh! Testing out rocking chairs! Veronica that’s such a great idea! Now do you prefer a rocking sensation or a gliding one?” Lynn asked hurrying over to see what rocking chair Veronica was trying out.

“Mom, Veronica’s not feeling well how about we finish up and go back to the hotel.” Logan said taking the list gently out of his girlfriend’s stiff hands and glancing up at his mother.

Lynn nodded her brow creased, “How about you take her back and I finish up registering for the two of you. I was going to go out with some friends once we were done anyway. Bonnie is having a singles cocktail party.” Lynn said looking at the price tag of the rocking chair Veronica was occupying.

“You aren’t single though.” Logan said astonished by his mother’s behavior. He hadn’t seen her this happy in years. Whether it was from getting away from Aaron or the news that she was shopping for baby supplies he didn’t know. All he knew was it was weird and he didn’t know she’d go so baby crazy.

“Yes, well, it’ll still be fun. I can have a few drinks catch up with some friends. I haven’t seen some of the girls in forever, what with work and everything.” She said waving him off.

“Are you sure? We can just go to dinner.” Logan said thinking of how he was going to probably help his mother into bed tonight because of how wasted she was going to be.

“Logan go out with Veronica. Have fun. Be normal kids for awhile you guys deserve it. It’s been a tough few months and it’s just going to get worse.” Lynn said patting his cheek.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be home late so I’ll see you in the morning.” Lynn said before looking down at Veronica who was staring at the floor and concentrating on not having a panic attack.

“Veronica, honey, what do you think about mobiles? Do you want one or not? Logan had a dinosaur one, but what type do you think the baby will want?” Lynn asked gently.

Veronica gulped and shook her head having no idea what a child living inside her would want as a mobile. 

“Just pick one we can decide later.” Logan said helping his girlfriend up and leading her to the entrance.

“Be safe!” Logan yelled behind him as they exited the store and went to find a cab.

The drive home was quiet as both teens contemplated everything that had happened that day. Veronica wasn’t sure why she froze up so suddenly in the store. She assumed it was because of the expanse of things she was going to need, but that didn’t make much sense. Well it did, but she didn’t think she’d freeze like that. 

“I’m sorry I froze like that.” Veronica said finally as they stood in the elevator going up to the room.

Logan glanced at her. “I froze pretty badly too. The more my mom went on the more I felt overwhelmed.”

“It’s going to be so much money.” Veronica mumbled as the elevator dinged. Her mind was swimming with all of the questions Lynn had asked her. What was she going to do? How was she going to afford it all? How was she even supposed to take care of a baby? She didn’t even know the difference between a bassinet and a crib or if she even wanted to breast-feed or not.

“Don’t worry about money, Ronnie it’s covered.” Logan said walking to the room.

“It’s not just about the money, Logan, it’s about everything. I don’t know the first thing about being a mom. I have never even babysat! I don’t know what any of that stuff is or does and I can’t even ask my mom because she’s passed out 24/7. I don’t know what’s going to happen or how we’re going to get through it because our parents seriously aren’t the best and I just…I don’t know. I don’t know if I can be a mom.” Veronica rambled sitting on the couch her tone defeated. 

Logan sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her. “It’s ok to be scared. I’m scared, but I do know that we’re not our parents. You’re not going to turn into an absentee lush and I’m not going to turn into a psychotic abuser. We’re going to get through this together and we’ll figure it out on the way. People have been raising kids since the dawn of time we can do this.” He said kissing her on the forehead.

“Besides we have two trimesters to get through before the baby comes and we can research and figure out all the major stuff as we go on. We have time Veronica don’t feel pressured.” Logan said leaning back against the couch and bringing Veronica with him.

She took a deep breath and nodded, “yeah, yeah you’re right.” She said and the room lapsed into silence. Neither of them spoke for awhile as Veronica calmed down from her freak out and finally when she felt a little better again she moving back and looking over at him.

“I have to tell you something.” She said looking away knowing that she had to come clean. The guilt had been eating at her all day despite everything she tried to do to not think of yesterday.

Logan sat up straighter and looked over at her. “Is this the part you tell me you’ve been having a secret love affair with the postman?”

“I talked to Duncan yesterday.” Veronica blurted out making the atmosphere automatically tense.

Logan nodded keeping his face impassive. “And? Did you he turn into the hulk again?” he asked trying to joke, but it came out as a serious question.

She gulped and looked away. “I was leaving school, well I was packing my bag to leave school and then you know he was right behind me and he said he wanted to talk so I said sure. Cause you know we dated and he’s your friend and I want us to continue to be friends even after how he acted—“

“I know all of this get to the point.” Logan said his voice faltering on trying to be nonchalant and an underlining tone of anger. 

“He…we exchanged heated words.” She said her voice becoming more and more quiet.

He narrowed his eyes, “heated words? Like what? Passion filled or anger filled? Or like a firey tone of disapproval for dating me?” 

“I don’t want you to get angry.” Veronica stated knowing a disclaimer wasn’t going to do her any good.

“The more you dance around the subject the angrier I’m going to get. What type of heated words, Veronica? Should I be worried that you’re going to leave me for him?” Logan asked trying to insert a joke, but knowing it came off as anything, but since it was a real question that ate at him in the dark of the night.

“He told me he still loved me and then…” she took a deep breath concentrating on the chipping nail polish on her fingers. “And then he tried to kiss me.” She mumbled.

She heard Logan let out a deep breath and she looked up to see him clenching his fists and jaw as if he was trying to contain anger, which she knew he was.

“I left after that.” she added needing to let him know that. 

Suddenly he stood up and began to pace the length of the room. “Tell me again. Start from the beginning and no rambling.” He instructed.

She sighed and looked down at her lap. “He asked to talk and then we went into the journalism classroom. He asked me how I was doing and then he said he wanted to talk about what happened at your house.” 

He let out a bark of malicious laughter.

“Then he told me he still loved me and tried to kiss me.” She added.

“What about the paternity? What about how he things you’re his sister? What about the fact you’re pregnant?” Logan snapped running a hand through his hair so he didn’t grab something and throw it. He really didn’t want to explain that to his mom.

Veronica shrugged not having the answers. “I thought it was kinda sick.”

“Kinda sick? Lets try seriously disturbed. I don’t want you anywhere near him.” He said.

She stared at him incredulously and then got off the couch going over to him. “That’s not your decision to make. You don’t get to tell me who I can and can’t talk to.   
I’m a person Logan not a pet. You aren’t my owner.”

“But I’m your boyfriend! And I want to keep you safe! Duncan as we’ve established is completely twisted and deranged. Do you want a repeat of what happened at my house? Do you want him to attack you?” he yelled watching her carefully. She looked away knowing he was right, but something on her face made his eyes narrow.

“You said tried to kiss you. What do you mean?” he asked his voice low.

“He kinda backed me into the table and tried to move my face to his.” She admitted her eyes flickering between his and the wall behind him.

“So you didn’t kiss him?

“No! I wouldn’t do that to you!” she exclaimed getting angry. “Just like I wouldn’t tell you who you can and can’t hang out with! Duncan’s a good friend or he was at least so if I want to hang out with him then I’ll hang out with him! You don’t own me.” She yelled.

He looked away knowing he shouldn’t have told her what to do he knew she hated that, but he was only trying to keep her safe.

“Do you still love Duncan?” he asked quietly.

Veronica opened her mouth, but no noise came out. She didn’t know what to say she wasn’t 100 percent sure on how she felt. She’d thought about it all day, but was no closer to being able to explain anything. She didn’t love Duncan like how Logan thought she did, but she still cared about him. She would help him if he asked for it and like her and Logan he was hurting because of everything that had happened to them. She felt sorry she had hurt him and what she’d told him in the classroom was real, but a part of her knew she would always love Duncan since he was her first love. They had been happy together, but she knew that they could never go back to how it was and he’d fucked her over in the end. Even if they weren’t siblings they still couldn’t go back and now that he didn’t even seem to care they were siblings that disturbed her on an entirely other level. 

When she needed someone after Lilly died it was Logan who was there not Duncan. Logan was stepping up to be a dad and helping her through everything. It was Logan who she trusted now and cared about and possibly even loved. It was Logan who she was with and who kept her safe and he was all she really needed. Logan was it for her, she realized with a swoop of her stomach.

Finally she raised her eyes to his and opened her mouth again, but before she could tell him ‘no’ he moved past her and towards the door.

“Where are you going?” she yelled after him.

“I’m taking the silence as your answer.” He said without turning around to face her and before she could tell him not to go he was out the door and halfway down the hall. She moved to go after him, but he had the keycard and she’d be locked out so she frantically looked around for something to prop the door open with, but by the time she found something he was gone.


	19. The Future

Chapter 19 The Future

Veronica stared at the door willing it to open. After waiting to see if Logan would come back earlier in the day she went to change into some yoga pants and ordered room service. When Logan still wasn’t back after over two hours she decided to try and get some work done with her new clients. Once Lynn came home Veronica decided that maybe she should wait in their bedroom, but she knew she wouldn’t go to sleep with images of him wrapped around some leggy brunette tormenting her. 

She knew Logan never cheated on Lilly except for the one kiss with Yolanda, but would he cheat on her? Did he even care about her? His actions were making her think not. 

When it neared one am she tried calling his phone for the millionth time, but it went straight to voicemail. She sat in the hotel bed drumming her hands on her bump wondering what to do. She thought about what she would say when she saw him. First she would punch him of course and then tell him that he was an idiot and that she didn’t love Duncan. Then she’d kiss him if they were even still together, she had no idea, but she knew she needed him in her life. They couldn’t not be together after one fight she told herself that just wasn’t going to happen and if that was the case they never would’ve lasted long anyway.

She tried to make herself hate his behavior for walking out on her, but she couldn’t. She was worried and the more the hands on the clock ticked away the more anxious she became. On some level she couldn’t blame him either, she had taken awhile to answer. Worst case scenarios began to drift through her head and she tried to calm herself by talking to the baby or reading the pregnancy book she’d brought with her.

At half past two she heard a thud in the living room. She removed the covers from her body and opened the door a smidge to see Logan on the floor. She frowned watching as he struggled to right himself. She rolled her eyes and left the bedroom watching as he finally climbed onto the couch and tried to get comfortable.

“What are you doing?” she asked coming to stand over him.

He looked up and over at her. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed over. She frowned able to tell that he had been drinking. He gave her a drunken smile, which confirmed her suspicions. 

“Ronnie.” He cooed.

She sighed and watched as he kicked off his shoes burying himself in the couch.

“Where were you?” she asked.

He giggled and raised his hands to make vague gestures. “Painting the town red.” He slurred.

She sighed feeling a mix of relief for seeing him and irritated for him disappearing on her and getting drunk. “Are you ok?”

He looked over at her glazed eyes sharpening to focus on her face. “No.” he blurted out.

“Logan let’s go into the bedroom and talk.” She said trying to placate him.

“No.” he said shaking his head.

She smirked, “Funny you say this like you have a choice.” she said before grabbing him by his ear and dragging him into the bedroom. He yowled so loudly she hoped he didn’t wake his mother. She let go of his ear immediately and then shut the door just as Logan let out a loud ‘what the fuck.’

“That’s for leaving me!” she shouted pushing him slightly. He stumbled back and into the bed looking at her incredulously.

“Leaving you? What the fuck Veronica! You chose Duncan!” he yelled rubbing his ear.

She stared at him for a moment before scoffing and turning away to grab a glass from the bathroom and filling it with water. She shoved the glass into his hand and then sat down beside him as he drank the water. She ran a tired hand through her hair and tried to reign in her anger.

“Logan you can’t go out and get drunk at all hours of the day just because we had a fight.” She said trying to steady her voice.

“Gee Veronica how silly of me not to consult you when I should and shouldn’t get drunk. I was just so damn angry at you I didn’t realize I had to check to make sure I could get drunk, my bad for being such a disappointment.” He spat putting the water on the bedside table before standing up. 

“Logan I’m just…you just walked out without hearing my answer!” she stuttered taken aback by the venom in his voice.

Logan laughed bitterly and turned away, “I did get an answer. The silence. You took forever to answer! What was I supposed to think? You’re still in love with Duncan I get it, whatever. I’m just a fucking placeholder.” He snarled waving his hands angrily.

“Logan you aren’t a placeholder.” She whispered her anger replaced by hurt at his assumptions.

“Funny Veronica! I didn’t realize how much bullshit you actually say. What’s next you tell me you’re running away with Duncan or better yet—“

“You’re a jackass! What is wrong with you?” She snarled angrily standing up and getting in his face. 

“What’s wrong with me!? You chose Duncan! You’ve been in love—“

“I don’t love Duncan! If you had stayed a moment longer to listen to me you would’ve realize that! I don’t love Duncan! I don’t love Duncan! I don’t love Duncan! How many times do I have to say it?” she growled.

He stared at her not know what to say. “You don’t love Duncan?” he asked wanting to hear it again.

“No! I don’t! He was my first Logan just like Lilly was yours and yeah that means something, but in the end I don’t love him. ” She said angrily. Then she took a deep breath before Logan could interrupt. “I can’t change that he was my first and even if I could I don’t think I would. Without his love I wouldn’t have become the person I am. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. I did love Duncan, but I don’t anymore. Maybe a part of me will always love him, but that path is closed. I’m on a new one and I’d like to continue down it with you and the little vegetarian.” She said and then added in a whispered tone, “If you’ll have me.” 

Logan looked away not wanting to see the hurt he had caused in her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll have you.” he finally said his tone just as quiet.

“Good can we go to bed now?” 

Logan looked down at her searching her eyes as if waiting for her to say ‘gotcha’ and to rip his heart out again. 

She sighed seeing the vulnerability in his eyes and looked away wondering what else she could say to make him feel better. “I don’t know what else to say, Logan. I’m not going to leave you for Duncan. I don’t want him and I know you don’t believe me for whatever reason, but it’s the truth.”

“I believe you.” he finally admitted his voice raspy.

Her blue eyes met his brown ones and she felt her stomach flip flop. “Are we ok?” she asked.

“Yeah. We’re ok.” He said watching as she breathed a sigh of relief. She gave him a gentle smile and then moved backwards to the bed patting the spot beside her. He sat down next to her and they both stared straight ahead.

“Where were you tonight?” she finally asked.

He looked down and ran a hand through his hair. “Trying to forget. I went to the bar.”

She nodded knowing how he usually dealt with his issues. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I just was trying to gather my thoughts. I don’t want to lie to you.” 

Logan nodded a small humorless smile on his face. “You only broke my heart no big deal.” He grumbled looking over at her trying to be nonchalant, but the insecurity in his voice gave him away.

She felt herself melt at his declaration and she felt even worse about taking so long to answer. If he felt like his heart had been broken, did that mean he loved her?   
Did she really make him feel that insecure to think she’d go back to Duncan? Something big was happening between them that much she knew. She opened her mouth to ask him what exactly he meant by that, but suddenly he moved across the bed and lay down.

“Logan?” she asked turning almost all the way around to see him fully.

“Tired.” He said turning onto his side away from her.

She stared at him for a moment before reaching over and turning off the light before getting into bed as well. At first she was hesitant to spoon his back, but finally she decided to just do it. She curled herself around him and after his initial stiffness he finally relaxed and they both fell into dreamland.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive to Neptune the next day was tense. The drive was even quieter than the one they took to San Diego. Logan hadn’t said much since he woke up, which was beyond unusual for him, but every time Veronica tried to talk to him he snapped an answer back to her. She didn’t know what his problem was especially since she thought she had finally gotten through to him and he had said they were ok. Did she do something in her sleep? Or was their entire make up a dream she had? Were they not ok? Was he going to leave her? She felt icy coldness drop into her stomach at the thought of him leaving her and she prayed that wasn’t the case.   
As they pulled up to her door she went to grab her stuff and go into her house not wanting to be around him when he was being his jackass self. 

“Do you want me to pick you up for the doctor’s appointment Tuesday?” he asked getting out to help her.

She shot him a glare, “oh are we talking now? I wasn’t sure what with you ignoring me all day.” She snapped carrying her bag to the porch as Logan trailed behind her with the rest of them.

Logan glared, “I’m not ignoring you.”

“Then what’s your problem? I thought we talked last night. Do you not remember that? Were you too drunk?” she snapped setting her stuff down and putting her hands on her hips. She knew she was only driving him even more away with her anger, but she couldn’t help it. She was angry and he should know that he couldn’t just act like this with her. They were going to become parents and they weren’t always going to get along and Logan couldn’t go out and get drunk every time he was upset. 

Logan glanced back at the car his mother visible through the glass. He turned back to Veronica a mask of cool indifference on his face.

“Do you want a rid or not?” he asked ignoring her questions.

“No.” she said angrily digging in her purse to find her keys.

Logan stood there awkwardly for a moment. 

“What?” she finally snapped when he continued to stare.

“I didn’t mean what I said last night.” He blurted out rubbing his neck and looking anywhere but at her.

She frowned confused by his statement. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

Logan shook his head and then turned away walking back to the car. Veronica watched him go not sure what to think when suddenly his comment about being   
heartbroken by his assumption that she was still in love with Duncan came back to her. Did he really feel that strongly about her that he was heartbroken by her lack of a response? Sure she answered his question when he got back and she thought everything was ok, but obviously his odd behavior today showed otherwise. 

She shook her head not knowing what the hell was going through Logan’s mind. Instead she went inside her house her hands laden with bags and went to her room ignoring her mother passed out on the couch. She tried not to think about anything that was wrong with her life the remainder of that Sunday. Instead she put her clothes away and worked on the clients she had with brainstorming ideas for where Lilly’s bracelet came from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday at lunch Veronica had finished half of the clients that had asked her for information on her parents. Two of them she found early in the lunch period, but the last girl Cindy Mackenzie she was a little hesitant to give hers to. She sat at her usual lunch table waiting for Logan and Wallace to come join her. Although she wasn’t sure if Logan would even come sit with them since he was probably still angry about the whole Duncan thing.

“Hey V! How was your weekend?” Wallace asked coming to sit at the table.

Veronica shrugged her eyes searching the crowded quad for Logan. “Logan and I went to San Diego.” She said after coming up fruitless.

Wallace concentrated on opening his milk as he asked her what they did. She gave him a brief version of the events and then asked what he had done. Their conversation was easy and flowing until a girl with brunette hair and blue streaks sat down beside Veronica.

“Hi!” Veronica chirped.

“Hi.” Mac said blushing. “I’m Mac.” She added looking over at Wallace then back at Veronica.

“I know. I have your file, but…um I think you should consider…” she trailed off as Logan came over and dropped a steaming pizza box on the table.

“Pizza?” he asked the table, but mostly looking at Veronica.

“Please.” Veronica said knowing this was his way of trying to make up for his crappy behavior. It wasn’t the best apology, but she knew that he was trying and that counted for her.

“Help yourselves.” Logan said nodding to Wallace and Mac.

“Thanks.” Mac said smiling and taking a piece as Wallace followed suit. Logan looked over at Veronica and she knew without him having to ask that they needed to talk.

“Mac, can you come over tonight so I can give you your file?” Veronica asked not wanting to drop the bomb on her and then leave.

Mac nodded not knowing that her entire life was going to change that night. Veronica smiled and stood up grabbing her stuff, saying ‘bye’ to Wallace and walking with 

Logan to a secluded table in the Quad. He took her hands gently and stared down at them not knowing how to begin.

“It’s ok.” She said after a long pause.

He shook his head finally looking up at her, “no it’s not. I’m sorry I flipped out and I’m sorry about yesterday too, I just…this whole real relationship thing is pretty weird for me.” He said playing with her fingers.

“You and Lilly were real.”

“Not really. Lilly cheated and I came crawling back every time we broke up. All we did was fuck and break up. That’s not real, but this is and sometimes…it’s kinda…well it’s scary.” He admitted finally.

Veronica nodded knowing exactly how he felt. 

“And I can’t help, but think I’m such a disappointment to you. I mean you had Duncan who was like the epitome of perfect boyfriend and now you have me who’s kinda a huge fuck up.” He said dropping her hands and making wild gestures as he avoided her eyes.

“You aren’t a disappointment or a fuck up Logan. Duncan wasn’t perfect and I’m sorry I didn’t answer you right when you asked the question. I had to gather my thoughts and try to tell you what I was feeling without any crap. Duncan’s my past and you’re my future I don’t know how many times I have to say it. I want you. Just you.” she said wishing he would believe what she was saying instead of thinking so low of himself. She knew that a majority of his low self esteem he hide with sarcasm and jackass tendencies was a result of Aaron’s abuse, but she also knew that Lilly probably didn’t help with her constant cheating. She would always love Lilly, but she wasn’t always the best person and how she treated Logan was pretty abysmal. 

Logan nodded giving her a small smile before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead and then the lips. She sighed in contentment the twisted feeling in her stomach that had been there since Saturday night finally subsiding with the knowledge that they were at least kind of ok.

“Also…um…you know about how I said I was heartbroken that was just you know an exaggeration. I mean I was upset, but like not heartbroken. I mean I care about you but I don’t L-word you yet, you know. It was just a drunken slip of the tongue.” He rambled looking over her shoulder and avoiding her cerulean eyes.

“Oh yeah, totally.” She said trying to brush off the fact that he didn’t love her. She had known him long enough to know when he was lying, but it still hurt. She knew neither of them were ready to say it, but the fact that he had said he was heartbroken even drunk meant something. It still bothered her that he was denying it though. She knew eventually in the future they would both be ready to say it. 

“So tomorrow should I come get you for the doctor’s appointment?” he asked wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her closer. 

“I suppose. The other potential father was busy.” She said giving him a smile.

He chuckled and kissed her on the lips again before the bell rang signifying the end of lunch. They broke apart and went into the building both feeling better about resolving their issues.

Once school was done Veronica went home to find her mother still passed out on the couch or maybe she had moved, but was again passed out. Veronica didn’t know and she tried to wake her mom up to get her into the bedroom, but she was out cold. There was a knock on the door and Veronica sighed grabbing the file out of her bag and going to open the door. She cracked it a bit so Mac wouldn’t see her mom and then closed the door behind her as they stepped onto the porch.

“Hey.” Veronica said giving Mac and smile.

“So the file.” Mac said eagerly.

Veronica nodded holding the manila folder up. “Before you open this I want you to know it has life changing information and that once you know this you can’t go back.” Veronica warned.

Mac nodded and opened the file reading over what Veronica found. When she was done she sat down heavily on Veronica’s steps and stared off into the distance.

“Do you know who I was switched with?” Mac asked after a lengthy pause as Veronica sat beside her ready to comfort if need be.

“Best guess…Madison Sinclair. You’re birthdays are only a few days apart and…I mean no ones named, but I can dig a little more to find some more stuff out.” Veronica said delicately.

Mac let out a loud breath amazed at what she now knew. “I’ll pay extra.” She added.

Veronica shook her head, “it’s really ok. This I’ll do for free.”

“But what about…” Mac trailed off blushing.

Veronica smiled slightly, “The baby? I think I can spare a few extra minutes, you can just owe me a favor or something.” 

Mac nodded her mind still blown from what Veronica had found. 

“Are you going to be ok?” Veronica asked after a lengthy pause.

Mac sighed, “yeah. Weirdly I kind of knew. I don’t really fit in with my family. I love them and everything, but they’re corn dogs and hamburgers and I’m vegan…it   
makes sense…I just want to know more you know. Like what is my real family like?” Mac mumbled glancing over at Veronica.

Veronica bit her lip and looked away, “do you really want to know?” she asked tentatively.

“If I could meet my real family I would…” she trailed off a sly expression coming onto her face. “You know I heard Madison’s having a party this weekend, do you think   
we could get in?” Mac asked hopefully.

Veronica frowned deeply, “Mac I’m not exactly—“

“Please Veronica! I want to know what I’m missing I want to know what I could’ve had.” Mac begged.

Veronica bit her lip nervously not wanting to say no, but not exactly eager to go to an 09er party. 

“Let me see what I can do.” She said finally relenting.

Mac smiled hugely and hugged her in thanks. “It’s just an after New Years party I’m sure it won’t be a big deal. We can go after the Winter Carnival.” Mac said giddily. 

Veronica tried to smile back, but she found her lips not wanting to cooperate. “I forgot that was this weekend, ok, sure. Let’s do it, but Wallace and Logan are coming.”

Mac nodded, “I wouldn’t expect anything less.” With that she got up making sure to take the file with her and gave Veronica one more hug before leaving. Veronica watched her for a moment before going back inside and attempting to remove her mother from the couch and start dinner.


	20. The Magazine

Chapter 20 The Magazine

Logan and Veronica tensely sat in the noisy room at the doctor’s office. Unlike their previous appointment the waiting area was packed with parents, pregnant woman, and loud children. Both teens had edgy looks on their faces from the combination of noise and the future knowledge that their child could very much be like the noisy ones in the waiting area. 

As the minutes ticked by and the nurse called what seemed to be everyone, but them Veronica picked up a magazine to pass the time. As she flipped through the pages she felt Logan stiffen beside her.

Curiously she looked over at him and found him staring at a magazine someone had just set down.

“What’s wrong?” Veronica asked closing her magazine to focus on her boyfriend.

Logan ignored her and picked the magazine up staring at it as if it would explode.

“Logan.” She coaxed wondering why he wasn’t responding to her.

“Does this look familiar?” he asked holding up the magazine for her to see. She was about to say ‘no’ when she saw the headline and the picture beneath it. ‘Son of stars soon to be father?’ She re-read the headline again and then stared at the picture beneath it where she and Logan were pictured exiting one of the baby boutiques in San Diego.

Veronica skimmed the article and by the time she was done with it her complexion was ghostly pale.

“Logan…how did this happen? We had disguises.” She exclaimed worriedly. She didn’t care that her pregnancy was now going to be on TMZ and in People and all of that. She was more worried about Logan when his dad would find out that they were unable to announce the pregnancy on their own and were now gossip that could damage the good Echolls name. 

“I don’t know.” Logan said numbly his mind racing as he thought of his father and how angry he was about to be. As if on cue his cell phone rang and the caller ID read ‘home.’ Logan stared down at the cell for a moment debating whether or not to pick it up.

“Hello?” he asked finally.

“I just got an interesting call from my PR team Logan…and my agent and about a dozen other phone calls asking if it was true.” Aaron said his voice a deadly quiet.

Logan felt a chill race through his spin and he knew he was in some major trouble when he got home. His mind was already going through the various belts that were in the closest. He thought of which one to pick when his father went ape shit on him tonight for damaging his career.

“Oh?” Logan asked trying to play dumb. Veronica watched him carefully not knowing how to make the situation better and she so desperately wanted him not to have to deal with this.

“Apparently when your mother took you and your… The paparazzi saw you and decided to out the pregnancy instead of letting us do it on our own. Now we have to do damage control so do you know what that means, Logan?” Aaron snarled into the phone.

“I’m not getting the Barbie dream house I’ve always wanted.” Logan said sarcastically.

Aaron growled into the phone, “You think this is funny, Logan? Watch how funny you think it is when you get home tonight.” Aaron snarled into the phone before hanging up.

Veronica stared at him a mixture of anger and concern on her face. 

“Daddy dearest isn’t happy.”

“Why do you have to rile him up, Logan? You know what he’s going to do. Why do you insist on antagonizing him?” she snapped fear lacing her tone for her boyfriend.

Logan looked over at the receptionist talking to a mid-twenties couple not wanting to see the worry in Veronica’s eyes. 

“I can’t help it if I crave witty repartee and the great Aaron Echolls can’t take it.” 

“Logan…” Veronica sighed and put a hand in his wanting to convey to him how worried she was. She was concerned, angry, and full of fear for when he went home. 

“Don’t worry about it, Ronnie, I’m a big boy I can take care of myself.” He said standing up as a nurse finally called their name.

Veronica sighed as he began to walk towards the nurse. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” She mumbled as the nurse walked with them and took them into a room.

The nurse took Veronica’s vitals and asked her the normal questions. The doctor was in right after the nurse so Veronica couldn’t reprimand Logan or ask him any questions about what Aaron said. The doctor asked Veronica about her diet and had her go to the bathroom so she could check for proteins. Then she took her blood to test it to make sure everything was in order. Once that was done the doctor took out the Doppler and the teen parents got to hear their child’s heartbeat for the second time.

It was much like the first where both teens forgot all about the drama going on in their lives and they got to focus on such a tender moment. As they listened to their child’s heart everything else seemed to drop away. There was no paternity matter, abuse waiting at home, alcoholism, money problems or murder mysteries to solve it was just the three of them.

“Congrats! You guys have made it to the second trimester. Are there are questions you want to ask me?” the doctor asked as she began to wrap up the appointment.

Logan and Veronica shook their heads both too choked up at hearing their child’s heartbeat. 

“Ok then. The next appointment will be in 3 weeks when you are at 18 weeks that’s the big appointment. We get to measure everything and you get even more pictures! We also can tell you the sex if you would like to find out.” The doctor said smiling at both of them.

“Now until the next time remember to exercise, continue eating healthy and you may be able to start to feel the baby kick as soon as around 16 weeks. If there’s anything you need to know please feel free to call me.” She said before giving them another smile and leaving Veronica to change back into her clothes. 

Logan stood outside much as he had the last time and then the two went to make another appointment before leaving the office. Once they got into the car Logan began to drive towards school until Veronica’s voice interrupts him.

“Do you think we can just go back to my house?” she asked looking over at him nervously.

“You don’t feel like school today?” 

“Not today, there’s just too much going on and I want to talk about your dad.” 

“Veronica—“

“And mine too.” She added quietly effectively cutting him off.

He looked at her with wide eyes, “you’re going to open it aren’t you?” he asked quietly.

She nodded and Logan turned the car towards her house. They arrived there in record time and the pair went to Veronica’s room to where she had hidden the small envelope. She retrieved it from the pile of stuffed animals in her closest and then went to sit on her bed. She stared down at the envelope with Logan right beside her until she was ready to open it. After what seemed like a million years she finally ripped it open and began to read the results. Logan wanted to read over her shoulder, but wanted her to have this moment privately. 

He was torn wanting Veronica and Duncan to be siblings and not to be. He wanted them to be so he wouldn’t have to worry about Veronica leaving him for Duncan, but then he didn’t because it was too messed up to even think about them being related. Despite his fears he more so wanted them not to be related since it would destroy Veronica to know she was related to the Kanes. They already have enough going on at the current moment finding out her father wasn’t her actual father was not what they needed. He prayed they weren’t related.

She let out a tiny sigh drawing Logan’s eyes to her and then she handed the piece of paper over to him. He hugged her tightly to him after reading the paper.

“We aren’t related.” She finally rasped out tightening her hold on Logan.

“Are you doing to tell your dad?” he asked quietly after a few minutes of silence.

Veronica sighed, “I guess that was part of the deal wasn’t it.”

“Veronica—“ Logan began, but was interrupted by the tiny blonde getting up and getting her laptop out of her bag.

“I’ve been investigating your dad Logan. I know you kept putting it off, but I’ve been trying to see if there’s anything to really prove what he’s doing. So far I haven’t found anything concrete, but I think that if we went to the hospitals where you were admitted we could get the files and start some evidence. What do you think?” she asked now that her paternity was out of the way she wanted to concentrate on him.

“Woaw slow down Veronica don’t you wanna talk about you and the Kanes? Don’t you want to—“

“No I don’t want to. Jake’s not my father. Duncan’s not my brother. I’m moving on and focusing on you now. So I’ve only found a few incidents that are kind of incriminating, but if you give me some of the hospitals that you’ve been admitted to I can—“

“Why do you assume I’ve been admitted?” he edgily asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes getting off her bed.

“There…no one ever took me to the hospital…except…except once when I was six and he…no one ever took me so your plan won’t work.” Logan finally said.

“You only went to the hospital once? Logan what about all of those gashes I saw on your back what did you do then?” she asked angry that no one seemed to care enough to help him when he was hurt.

Logan looked away running a nervous hand against the back of his neck. “I fixed them myself, until you know you came to help me. I told you I’m a big boy Veronica.”

“You don’t go to the hospital? You fix them yourself? What happens if it’s really bad? Like the time I helped you? What happens then?” she demanded to know. She wasn’t able to process what he was saying. She didn’t understand how no one cared enough to help.

“I’ve gone a few times I guess, I mean just enough not to raise suspicion. The first time when I was six, then a few other times since when he couldn’t get anyone to come look at the weird angels my bones were in, but…yeah I do it myself.” Logan said as if it was the most normal thing in the entire world.

Veronica stared at him incredulously for a moment not knowing what to say. Her mind flashed to Logan at the age of 12 with the gashes he had now stitching himself up. She could feel tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes and she looked away knowing the last thing he wanted from her was pity. If she hadn’t already wanted to make Aaron pay now she wanted to make him suffer. She wanted to take everything near and dear to him and burn it to the ground. She wanted him to feel as helpless as she felt in that moment not being able to help Logan or how Logan felt every time he got the shit beaten out of him.

“Did he ever break anything?” she asked finally amazed at how steady her voice was since her insides were a hot mess.

Logan looked away, “he usually just got a private doctor if it was really bad or my mom did.” He didn’t add that his dad paid him enough to make sure the private doctor didn’t say anything.

“So no hospital visits?” she asked wishing that the answer was different so she could keep the plan she’d made. It had been such a good plan too. Easily effective and not dangerous. Now anything was up for discussion at least on her end. She was willing to get her hands dirty for him. Her one goal was keeping Aaron away from Logan and their child. 

Logan sighed, “Once when I was six, another when I was ten, one at twelve, and the last at fourteen. Like I said he got private doctors.”

“Would any of these doctors be willing to talk?”

Logan gave her a look and she knew that this angel wasn’t going to go anywhere she wanted it to.

“Ok, new plan. I think we should video tape him.” She said bravely.

Logan laughed condescendingly, “Video tape him? Isn’t he on the screen enough as is?”

“I wanted to go around to the different hospitals! That was the plan! I figured it would work, but if there’s not enough evidence what else can we do? When I want information I watch people and watching Aaron seems to be the only option at this point.” She snapped. She sighed and closed her eyes trying to control her anger. She wasn’t angry at Logan she was angry at how fucked up the entire situation was. She was Veronica Mars she could do anything except apparently help her boyfriend she thought miserably.

Logan gave her a comforting smile and pulled her two him pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Maybe it’s for the best, Ronnie. I’ll be out of the house in two years and once I’m eighteen I never have to see him again.”

She shook her head, “Two years is too long. I want him to suffer now. I don’t want anything to happen to you. We are taking him down it’s not up for discussion. Besides what happens when the kid comes? Where will the kid stay?” She said sharply pulling away and going towards her laptop that was on her desk. 

Logan sighed and watched her from across the room. “The kid will stay here, it’s safer.” He said.

Veronica let out a bitter laugh and replied woodenly, “Yeah with my alcoholic absentee mother that’s way safer.”

“We don’t really have a choice! Either it’s an abuser father or an alcoholic mother take your pick.” Logan snapped.

Veronica threw him a dirty look, “I don’t want to talk about this right now. There’s too much going on and the main priority is taking care of your dad. Once we take care of your dad then your house will be the safest.”

“What do you plan on doing, Veronica? Killing him? I know you want to help and make this go away, but maybe it’s not possible. He’s powerful. Nothing is going to bring him down.” 

“Everyone has a weakness and I intend to find his.” She said angrily determined to find out something that would destroy Aaron.  
She looked down at her desk for a moment trying to think as Logan began to walk around her room taking in the little changes that had occurred since Christmas. He frowned noticing a silver bracelet with the initials ‘LK’ on it.

“Where’d you get this?” he asked curiously picking it up off her dresser where her other jewelry lived.

Veronica stared at it dumbly for a moment not knowing what to say. She had put it on her dresser not really thinking of hiding it. She didn’t really think Logan would be in her room any time soon. How silly she was to assume that.

“It’s Lilly’s bracelet.” She said walking away from her desk and over to where he stood with the silver in his hand.

He looked at her curiously, “where’s you find it? She had complained about loosing it a few weeks before she died.” He said quietly.

Veronica frowned, “what do you mean?”

Logan shrugged setting the silver back where he’d found it. “We were at her house when she noticed it was missing. We looked everywhere for it, but after awhile she brushed it off mentioning how she probably left it somewhere earlier in the day. It was kinda weird since she freaked out about it and then suddenly let it go.” He said staring down at the silver.

Veronica frowned, “she lost it before she died? Like how long?”

“I don’t know, maybe a week or two. I wasn’t really paying attention. It’s a bracelet, Ronnie why would I care?” he smirked down at her.

She looked at the silver her mind going a mile a minute as she tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. “How often did you and Lilly fool around in the poolhouse?” she asked curiously.

Logan groaned and wrapped an arm around Veronica, “not this again…” he said rolling his eyes.

“Seriously, Logan when was the last time?”

Logan shrugged letting out a long breath. “I don’t know probably last New Years we didn’t really do it in there that often.” He said sheepishly.

Veronica let out a low breath taking that bit of information in. So Lilly’s bracelet had gone missing right before she died and Veronica had found it in the Echolls pool house, but Logan and Lilly hadn’t fooled around in there for almost a year. Veronica felt like she was missing some information, but she also reminded herself that Lilly could have been in there without Logan changing for the pool or something. The location, timing, and bracelet could possibly have nothing to do with Lilly’s murder or it could have everything to do with it.

Veronica tucked all the information in the back of her mind and told herself she’d write it in the file after Logan left.

“So how about we watch some movies or something.” He said bringing her back to the present.

Veronica smiled, “how about we do some homework and then you can make me lunch because I have a feeling I’ll be starving soon enough.”

Logan playfully let out a huff. “What the marshmallow wants I guess the marshmallow gets.” Before they left the room Veronica stopped him and gave him a small shy smile.

“Can you stay here tonight? I mean…I just…please.” She stuttered feeling bashful about asking him to stay at her house for the night. Part of her didn’t want him to go home because of Aaron’s threats and the other part just didn’t want to be away from him. Since her mom was passed out on the couch a majority of the time she figured he could stay in the guest bedroom. Speaking of which where was her mother exactly, shouldn’t she be home?

Logan opened his mouth to tell her that he was planning on going home, but the pleading expression in her eyes made him change his mind. “Yeah, sure. Is your dad ok with it though? And where’s your mom?” he asked suddenly as if he could read her thoughts.

“Out I guess and yes he’ll be fine with it.” She said wondering if now was the right time to tell her dad. She had been holding it in for so long and now that her master plan had failed she needed her dad’s help. She trusted him so she didn’t understand why Logan was so against the idea.

Logan smirked, “are you sure? I happen to like all my body parts.”

“I like your body parts too and yes! He’ll be fine with it.”

Logan gave her a skeptical look, but she smirked back at him before pushing him towards the door. “Come on your child is hungry.” 

Logan laughed wrapping an arm around her before heading to the kitchen. They spent the rest of the day doing homework, eating and watching movies until Lianne came stumbling in followed by an exhausted looking Keith.

“Logan’s staying is that ok?” Veronica asked as they ate dinner.

Keith looked back and forth between the two teens not knowing exactly what to say. “Shouldn’t he check with Lynn and Aaron?”

“They’re fine with it.” Veronica said quickly before Logan could intervene.

Keith frowned, but agreed knowing there was something he was missing, but after dealing with work and his drunk wife he was too tired to argue. Besides Veronica wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t something dire. He just hoped his daughter would tell him sooner rather than later.


	21. The Party

Chapter 21 The Party

“Are you going to go home tonight?” Veronica asked as they got ready for school the next morning.

Logan sighed, “I gotta Veronica it’s my home, remember?”

She frowned unhappy with his response. “You can just stay here…forever. I don’t mind.” She said half joking and half serious.

Logan pulled her to him and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before pressing another to the tip of her nose. “Don’t worry about me, Ronnie that’s my job.”

She gave him a worried look before saying ‘goodbye’ to her parents and then they left to go to school. The day passed too quickly for her and before she knew it was the end of the day. She tried to convince Logan to come over for a bit, but he told her his mom was at home and needed to talk to him about the pregnancy leak.

“Don’t worry, Ronnie I’ll be fine. My dad’s not there. He’s out with his PR team doing damage control.” He said trying to sooth the worry lines decorating her face.

“But what about—“

“It’s fine. He’ll come home and tell me what needs to be done to save his image and I’ll do whatever he wants.” 

“Without antagonizing him?”

Logan nodded giving her a smirk.

She sighed wringing her hands anxiety still written on her face. “Fine, but please call me.”

Logan’s smirk widened, “Gee Ronnie I never realized how clingy you were if I’d known that I would’ve knocked up a different blonde.” 

She gave him a dirty look that intensified his smirk. 

“Sure if it makes you feel better I’ll call.”

“Thank you.” she said giving him a sweet kiss as they got into the car. They began to drive away from school and towards Veronica’s house.

“So I was thinking this weekend after the Carnival maybe we could go out? You know maybe to dinner or something.” Logan asked as they drove through the streets of Neptune.

Veronica cringed, “I can’t actually…”

Logan shot her a look, “Ouch! Do you have a hot date?”

She smiled, “you know you’re the only one, but no uh…it’s Madison’s party Saturday.”

“So? Why would you care?”

“It’s for a case.” She said shortly.

“What case?” Logan asked suspiciously.

“My friend Mac…has a thing…Anyway do you wanna go? Mac, Wallace, me, and you.” she said hopefully.

Logan groaned, “A party where everyone hates you and thinks I’m—“

“They don’t think anything, Logan about you at least. At least you still have some good to your name. Mine’s totally soiled.” She said sourly.

“I don’t know Veronica, going to Madison’s party sounds like a bad idea. How did you get an invitation anyway?” he asked curiously.

Veronica remained silent and instead began to pick the nail polish off her nails.

“Veronica…” he warned.

“It’s just a party, Logan what’s the worst that can happen?” she said as he pulled into her driveway.

He stared at her in concern. “The worst that could happen? Oh I don’t know—“ he began put was effectively cut off by her kissing him hard on the mouth before getting out of the car.

“Remember to call me!” she yelled flouncing out of the car and into the house. Logan watched her go for a moment before taking the long way back to his house. Despite trying to be nonchalant about going home he was scared to death. He wasn’t sure what his father was going to do, but the only thing he knew was he had to keep it quiet from Veronica. He was supposed to be keeping her safe not the other way around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So is this the part where you show me your killer skills at ring toss?” Veronica teased as they walked around the Winter Carnival.

Logan laughed picking up the rings at the booth they were standing in front of. 

The rest of the week had passed quickly enough. Logan made a public statement about how he was going to become a father with his girlfriend and how he was stepping up to be a dad. Privately he got the shit beaten out of him and tried to hide it from Veronica. It had worked for a few days, but then they’d been fooling around and he’d winced too noticeably when she’d run her hands up his back. The night had ended in a screaming match that was quickly becoming an age old argument. She didn’t understand why he wouldn’t tell anyone and he didn’t want to talk about it. Neither left happy that night, but the next morning Logan had showed up at her house to take her to the Winter Carnival as promised. Most of the harsh words were forgotten and they both tried to enjoy their day together as normal teens.

“Of course would you expect anything different?” he asked winking at her.

She grinned and watched as he threw the three rings missing all of the bottles.

“Aww now that’s just sad.” She said laughing at the embarrassed look on his face.

“One more time.” he said paying the man and taking five more rings. This time he landed on a bottle in the back and won a medium sized stuffed animal.

“What do you want, Mars?” he asked as the ring toss man showed them the animals they could have.

“How about the bear?” she said pointing to the bear with a little t-shirt on.

“Not the pony? How surprising.” He said laughing when she stuck her tongue out at him.

“I liked the bear better.” She said simply hugging the white bear to her.

Logan laughed when he read the t-shirt. “I wuv you beary much.” He read taking the bear from her.

She smiled, “You can buy me a pony anytime, but how often will you win a bear that says this? Especially after I saw how poor your skills at ring toss are.” She said smirking at his mock-offended look.

“I’m hurt Mars, how could you think I the Great Logan Echolls could have poor skills at anything. I’ll have you know my parents are movie stars that means I can have and do anything.”

“Buy me a pony please.”

“Maybe for a wedding present.” He said dryly.

Both of them froze the implication of his words heavy in their hearts. The image of Veronica walking towards him in a wedding dress wasn’t distressing to Logan and the image of Logan proposing wasn’t so terrible to Veronica. What scared them most of all was that they could actually see it happening despite their parents’ marriages and the fact that they were 16.

“I was joking.” He said quickly after a long pause.

“Yeah, right, sure.” She said just as quickly.

The easy flowing afternoon had quickly become awkward and uncomfortable as both of their thoughts went to marriage.

“So do you want something to eat? I know how hungry you’ve been lately.” He said hurriedly changing the subject and earning himself a smack on the arm.

“Let’s go find Wallace first he just texted me.” She said taking his hand and heading towards the rides area where Wallace had told her he was. She found him talking to a cute African American girl. 

“Hey.” She said as they came to stop in front of Wallace and the girl.

“How are you, man?” Logan asked fist bumping him.

Wallace nodded, “good, good, this is Georgia.” He said introducing them to her.

“I’m Veronica and this is Logan.” Veronica said nudging her boyfriend in the side. Logan nodded at her as they began to walk around the Carnival.

“So how long have you guys been here?” Wallace asked curiously eyeing the bear in Veronica’s arms.

“Enough time to win this.” She said gleefully holding up the white bear.

Wallace laughed, “So are we still crashing this 09er party tonight?” he asked casting a look over at Logan.

“Sadly.” She said sighing heavily.

Wallace laughed as they came to stop in front of a booth with food and drink tickets. 

“I still can’t believe we’re going to this. Isn’t there some way to talk you out of it?” Logan asked annoyed.

“It’s not about me, it’s about Mac.” She said waving him away and handing over a twenty for tickets.

“Ronnie…” Logan whined seeing that she had bought tickets for both of them instead of letting him pay.

She rolled her eyes, “You can pay next time.” She handed him his tickets and the four of them continued their way to get food.

The little group continued through the Winter Carnival enjoying their time together before the big party that night. Needless to say they were all nervous to see what was going to happen. It was an 09er party so anything was up for grabs.

Once it hit four o’clock the little party went their separate ways with promises to meet up at Veronica’s that night. Logan dropped her off before going back to his house to change and to shower. Veronica went to her room to pick out an outfit that would be comfortable, but hide her bump. She had finally begun to wear the maternity clothes since her bump was becoming more and more visible day by day. 

She began to pack her stuff when she realized she left the white bear in Logan’s car. She made a mental note to get it tonight when she saw him. Then she put her laptop in her messenger bag and her camera along with some other little trinkets she didn’t go anywhere without including Lilly’s bracelet and an extra sweater in case she got cold. When six rolled around she ate dinner trying to ignore her mother passed out on the couch and then went to take a shower to get ready.

As she got dressed she put on a little big of make up, a light bit of jewelry, and the maternity dress she’d brought while out with Lynn and Logan. She stuffed an additional pair of yoga pants and t-shirt in case she wanted to change and then she slipped on a pair of flats. She went to the kitchen to grab some snacks and finally she was ready by eight for Logan and everyone else to come. The last thing she had to do was try and move her mother to her bedroom.

“Mom? Mom! Wake up!” she asked shaking her mother.

Lianne grumbled and swatted at Veronica’s hand. 

“Mom you need to go to your room.” Veronica said trying to move her mother.

“Go away Veronica.” Lianne grumbled turning over.

“Please mom, I have friends coming over.” Veronica said quietly shaking her mother again.

Lianne’s eyes finally snapped open and she slapped Veronica’s hands away. “Fine!” Lianne snarled taking the half empty bottle on the ground and stumbling to her room. Veronica watched her go for a moment before going to grab her stuff and waiting for the other three to show up. She tried not to think of her mother’s anger and how she was going to go right back to drinking when she went into her room. She wondered what she had done to make her mother drink so much. She wondered if she was such a disappointment to drive her mother to the bottle.

“No use crying over spilled milk, V.” she mumbled just as the doorbell rang.

Veronica got off the couch to open it not the least surprised to see Mac looking nervous in a black and blue stripped dress.

“Are you ready?” Veronica asked giving her a smile.

Mac shook her head, “I’m scared beyond belief honestly. Are you ready?”

Veronica gave her a reassuring smile, “It’s going to be fine.” she said leading her to the couch and then going to get something to eat. It seemed she was always hungry these days now that she’d stopped throwing up so much.

“Just remember don’t make eye contact with Madison you might turn to stone.”

Mac laughed as the doorbell rang again this time Wallace emerged.

“Who is ready to paaarty!!” Wallace cried doing some wild hand motions.

Veronica snickered as Mac’s face went even more ghostly pale.

“We’re waiting on Logan and then we can go.” She said wringing her hands with nerves. She’d be much more confident about this if she wasn’t showing so obviously. She felt like one of those characters in those stupid teen movies going to a party where she really didn’t belong. The only difference was she had no make over to make the guys drool over her. Instead she was pregnant and looking it. She just had a bad feeling something bad was going to happen tonight. Finally Logan got there his expression one of cool and calm, but Veronica could see the anxiety underneath.

“Are we ready to pretend to be rich.” Logan joked as they all left Veronica’s and headed to his car.

“You’re already rich.” She grumbled casting him a pointed look.

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her before leaning down and giving her a gentle kiss.

“It’ll be fine Veronica we’ll go there you do your spy stuff and then we’ll go home all in time for a possible movie marathon. What do you say?” he said as he opened the car door for her.

She looked back at Mac and Wallace who were laughing about something and then turned back to Logan.

“I just have a bad feeling about tonight.” She said quietly.

Logan’s smile dropped and he wrapped both arms around her. “Nothing bad is going to happen, sugarpuss. I’m with you tonight and I won’t allow it. Super Logan to the rescue.”

She cracked a smile, “I’ve always thought of you as Lusty Logan or Lecherous Logan.”

“I can be all three if you want.” He said waggling his eyebrows.

She laughed and finally got into the car as Mac and Wallace came to stand beside them.

The foursome drove to Madison’s and parked behind the long line of cars out front and sat in the car willing themselves to get out.

“Ok so the plan is…” Wallace trailed off looking at the other three.

“We attack Madison and hope for the best.” Logan said with a smirk.

Veronica rolled her eyes, “no start talking and walking since there are four of us she won’t say anything. Plus now that her and Dick are broken up she’s been all after Logan.” Veronica said casting him a look.

He scowled.

“Yeah I hear things.” She supplied at his ‘what the fuck’ look.

“That’s never going to happen.” He said taking her hand tightly in his. He wasn’t letting her go of that he was sure.

She smirked, “it better not. I just heard her and Shelley talking about it a few days ago. I swear some people never pay attention who’s in the bathroom.” She said with a shake of her head.

“Wait Dick and Madison broke up? When did that happen?” Mac asked curiously.

“Like—“

“Off topic people let’s go party it up.” Wallace said opening the door and getting out.

Logan leaned across the console to kiss Veronica hard on the lips before they got out as well. Mac took a deep breath before following them and all four walked together like a solid wall.

They walked up behind some Seniors and entered with them undetected by Madison who was gushing over one of the hot male Seniors who’d come to her party.

“I guess she just wasn’t that into me after all.” He whispered in Veronica’s ear as they went towards the kitchen.

“Pity.” Veronica said with a smirk. 

As they entered the kitchen Wallace went to get a drink and Logan opted for two water bottles since he was driving and Veronica was pregnant. Neither of them noticed Mac fall behind.

“If you want to drink I won’t stop you.” she said cracking open her water bottle.

Logan shook his head, “No after last weekend…” he trailed off as they shared a look.

“Logan my main man! What’s up?” Dick exclaimed seeing the couple in the kitchen doorway.

Dick glanced at Veronica and let his eyes rack her form. “Wow you really are pregnant.” 

She glowered at him, “Wow way to use your detective talents to realize that and after all these years I just thought you were only good for your looks.”

Dick frowned not hearing her sarcasm. “I thought you were the detective-y one. Besides I just thought those were rumors about you Madison made up. I didn’t think you two were dumb enough to cook a baby.”

“Cook a baby? Wow, really? You mean have a bun in the oven?” she said incredulously.

Dick’s face morphed into one of confusion, “I don’t get it. Why are there buns in the oven? Did you cook some because I’d rather have a donut or a cookie. Where can I get one though? I’m starving.”  
She continued to stare at him in amazement over his lack of knowledge and Logan wrapped and arm tightly around her waist.

“What’s up Dick?” Logan asked steering the conversation away from Veronica’s pregnancy.

“Madison dumped me a few days ago. Something about hitting on other cheerleaders or something, man shit’s not cool we had a whole plan set up for this weekend. We were gonna boomchikawowow.” He said making gyrating motions.

“Neat.” Logan deadpanned.

“Yo dude when we going to go surfing? You’ve been all on Ronnie lately and doing boring stuff! Every time I call you have an excuse. What gives, dude? When are you going to have dude time?” Dick whined.

Logan looked down at Veronica who smiled sweetly. “Dude time, Dick? What happens at dude time? Is it like painting your nails and massages like our girl time is?” she asked her tone sugary.

Dick frowned, “Girls massage each other? Dude how come I’m not invited! What about pillow fights are those real?”

Veronica glanced at Logan who was trying to hold in his laughter. 

“All the time Dick as a matter of fact sometimes we get oil and—“

“Veronica! There you are!” Mac exclaimed coming to stand between Dick and Logan. Immediately Dick’s eyes racked her form curious at the newcomer.

“Did you find anything?” Veronica snooped.

Mac opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Dick.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Dick, Dick Casablancas.” Dick said giving Mac a mega-watt smile.

Mac looked over at Veronica and Logan before giving him a brief uninterested smile.

“And you are…” he said when she didn’t respond.

“Mac.” She finally mumbled not sure if he was playing with her or because he was actually interested.

“You have killer hair Mac it’s like blue.” He said reaching out to touch it.

She smacked his hand away and gave him a tightlipped smile. “It is blue.” She said shortly before going over to the keg to get a beer.

Dick watched her go fascinated and then turned back to Logan and Veronica who wore identical amused expressions.

“Who is that girl?” he asked amazed.

“That’s Mac she’s my friend and off limits.” Veronica said shortly.

“Off limits?” Dick asked confused.

Logan chuckled, “it means unavailable.”

“Nothing is unavailable for Dick Casablancas.” He said proudly before going over to the keg to continue talking to her. Before he got there she left and went back to Logan and Veronica a red cup in her hands. Veronica and Logan watched in amusement as Dick circled the kitchen before coming back to them.

“So Mac are you from around here?” Dick asked flirtatiously as Mac sipped on her beer.

She frowned and looked over at Veronica. 

“She goes to our school, Dick.” Veronica said woodenly.

“Neat, Freshman?” he asked curiously.

“Dick we have history together and English and last year we were in the same art class. So no, I’m a Sophomore like you.” she said as Dick took in her words.

“Cool! Do you surf?” he asked ignoring the disinterest in her body language and tone.

“Surf?” Mac asked incredulously.

“She could come with us, right dude?” Dick asked hopefully then looked down at Veronica who was sipping her water. “I guess Ronnie can come too.” He added less enthusiastically.

“Dick I think you have to ask if she even wants to come out before you make plans to go out.” Logan said chuckling at the looks on Mac and Veronica’s faced.

Dick frowned, “why wouldn’t she go out with me? I’m Dick Casablancas.” he asked.

Mac rolled her eyes, “First I don’t surf and second I have no desire to go out with you. Third don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” She said before turning and leaving Dick looking like a wounded fish with his mouth hanging out.

Logan slapped Dick on the back giving him a comforting look. “Better luck next time, Dick.”

He scowled and shrugged Logan’s hand off. “Whatever.” He mumbled before going back to the keg.

Veronica smirked, “I think she may have hurt his feelings.”

“Doubtful Dick isn’t capable of too many feelings outside inebriated and happy.” 

She laughed, “I guess, but Dick’s right—for once—you haven’t been surfing as much as usual. I hope it’s not because of me.”

Logan shrugged, “it’s not I just haven’t had the time.”

“Well maybe tomorrow we can go to the beach? You can surf and I can read a nice book.” She said grinning up at him.

Logan smiled, “sure ok.” He said before taking her hand and leaving the kitchen. They walked around for a bit watching as their classmates got drunk or made snide comments to them. Finally they found Mac in the Sinclair study talking with a twelve year old girl about her book. 

“Are you ready?” Veronica asked as Logan went to find Wallace.

Mac hesitated and then nodded finally knowing eventually she was going to have to leave.

Veronica gave her a tender smile and then they said ‘goodbye’ to the girl before leaving the study. Once outside Mac stopped in her tracks a sullen look on her face.

“I could’ve had this, you know. Everything could’ve been different if they had just switched us back.” Mac said angrily on the verge of tears.

“You can’t change the past, Mac. Believe me.” Veronica said trying to sooth the brunette.

“I just don’t get it. They should’ve switched us back. I bet Madison has never even set foot in that library or read even one of those books. She probably doesn’t even know about the history of any of the places she’s gone! She doesn’t deserve this.” Mac said bitterly.

Veronica sighed and gave her a comforting hug. “I know it’s hard, but it’s for the best. You love your parents, right?”

Mac nodded teary eyed.

“Then that’s all you need to know. Don’t think about the ‘what ifs’ it will drive you crazy.” She said giving her a small smile.

Mac nodded and opened her mouth to respond when suddenly they heard a commotion coming from the living room. Veronica hurried towards it and Mac followed her. They came to a crowd in the middle of the living room gathered around two people fighting. Veronica thanked her lucky stars for being so short and pushed her way to the front surprised and yet not as much as she thought she’d be to see Duncan and Logan in the middle yelling at each other.

“Screw you, Duncan! You know that’s not true and don’t you ever say that again!” Logan yelled flexing his fists to restrain his anger.

“I can say whatever I want! You stole my girlfriend and everyone knows it!” Duncan drunkenly yelled taking a swing at Logan.

Veronica watched wide eyed as Duncan’s fist connected with Logan’s face and he retaliated with a punch of his own knocking Duncan down to the ground.

“What the hell is this!” Veronica shouted taking the moment that Duncan was on the ground to approach Logan. Logan whipped blood from his lip and looked back and forth between Duncan and Veronica.

“It was Duncan, V, he came at us.” Wallace said piping up from behind Logan.

Veronica opened her mouth several times before suddenly Logan grabbed her and put her behind him. She barely had a moment to ask what had happened when suddenly Duncan rushed at him. Veronica shouted for them to ‘stop’, but she knew she couldn’t do much in her current situation.

Duncan swung a punch at Logan again, but he dodged it and head butted Duncan in the head. The room heard a sickening crunch and Duncan fell off Logan blood pouring down his face.

Logan pushed him the rest of the way off of him and he stood up staring down at Duncan both of their blood decorating their faces.

“Stay away from us.” Logan said bitterly and then looked around.

“Can someone take him to the hospital?” he asked not wanting to do it himself. He wanted to remain friends with Duncan, but after everything that had happened between them he didn’t know if it was possible. The things Duncan said…

“I’ll do it.” Meg spoke up from the crowd.

Logan gave her a nod and then grabbed Veronica’s hand and dragged her out of the party.

“Logan! What the hell happened!” she yelled as Wallace and Mac trailed after them.

Logan shook his head his grip on her hand tightening. “I was looking for Wallace when Duncan drunkenly came up to me and started going on about you. I got angry and before I knew it he began to push me. What was I supposed to do? Sit back and watch? He was goading me on, Ronnie! I couldn’t…I know it was wrong and I’m sorry, but he just…the stuff he was saying.” Logan said angrily.

Veronica sighed knowing she should tell him off for attacking Duncan. “Don’t do that again.” She said annoyed getting into the car.

“It’s not my fault!” Logan exclaimed.

“I didn’t say that! Don’t put words in my mouth, Logan!” she yelled back irritated.

Wallace and Mac watched quietly from the back seat as the two began to argue.

“He was goading me! Saying things about us and how I wasn’t good enough for you! I wasn’t going to take it.” He shouted as he drove back to Wallace’s house to drop him off. Everyone, but him had asked their parents for a ride.

“Duncan’s going through a hard time! He’s crazed and you know this! Whatever he said you could’ve ignored it because you know it’s not true.”

“He insulted the baby how was I not supposed to respond?” Logan admitted his voice a deadly quiet.

Veronica opened her mouth to tell him to ignore it, but she knew that wasn’t Logan’s style. She let out a deep breath instead and the car went silent.

“Thanks for the ride.” Wallace said as Logan finally pulled into his driveway.

“No problem thanks for the backup.” Logan said casting a glance at Veronica. She stared down at her lap not knowing what to say. It was one thing to talk about their relationship, but a whole other to bring their kid into it and provoke Logan on about things he was already self-conscious about.

“I’m sorry.” Veronica said as they headed to Mac’s. 

Logan shook his head, “I understand why you’re angry, but I didn’t just attack him. He was saying all of this stuff and it just got to me. Stuff about you, stuff about me, and once he started about the kid I just…”

“I know.” Veronica said putting a hand on his almost forgetting about Mac in the backseat.

Mac cleared her throat loudly making them come back to the real world.

“I’m sorry tonight didn’t go like how you wanted.” Veronica said looking back at Mac.

She shrugged, “I learned a lot that’s for sure and it was kinda nice.” She said quietly.

Veronica smiled, “tomorrow we’re going to the beach if you want to come. No Dick, promise.”

Mac smiled slightly, “He wasn’t that bad not compared to some of the other guys in our class.” 

Veronica chuckled and sat back as they pulled into Mac’s neighborhood.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Mac said getting out and going to her house.

They began to drive towards Veronica’s neighborhood. It was only a few streets over since they both lived in the same area. 

“So where to next?” Logan asked looking over at Veronica.

“Home.” She said just as he phone began to ring.

“Veronica?” he dad’s voice crackled over the phone.

“Dad.” She said smiling.

“Where are you?” he asked worry etched into his voice.

“Logan’s about to take me home.” She said confused.

Keith let out a sigh, “Ok I’ll see you soon. Be careful.” He said before hanging up.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked confused.

“Beats me. My dad probably just being cautious or some—“ she stopped talking seeing smoke in the distance.

“Do you see that?” she asked her eyes getting wider as they drove closer to the smoke.

“It’s a fire so what?” Logan said carelessly as he played with the radio.

Veronica frowned the anxiety in her stomach tightening. She placed a hand on her bump trying to comfort herself. As they drove closer to her house the smoke got thicker and the wail of sirens could be heard. Veronica gulped as they turned onto her street and saw the area was blocked off. As soon as Logan pulled over she jumped out of the car without waiting for him. She ignored everyone trying to stop her as she raced down the street towards her house. The bad feeling finally made sense she thought it was the fight between Logan and Duncan, but this was so much worse. She stopped right before her house taking in the sight of her home going up in flames.


	22. The Fire

Chapter 22 The Fire

“Veronica!”

“Veronica!”

Veronica continued to stare at her childhood home going up in flames. The first thought was about all of her stuff, which she knew was petty, but really she only had the clothes on her back and the pair of yoga pants she’d stashed in her messenger bag. She didn’t even particularly like those yoga pants honestly. The second thought was where was she going to live. Her house had just burned down for God’s sake she was homeless. And the last embarrassing thought was thank God she’d had her really important stuff on her like her computer, camera, and Lilly’s bracelet. Especially the necklace Logan had given her as well. She was even glad she’d forgotten the white teddy bear Logan had won for her earlier that day. She shivered in disbelief unable to grasp the fact that she had, had a home less than 24 hours before and now she had nothing.

“Are you ok?” Logan asked hurrying towards her followed by Keith.

“Honey, don’t do that again. You need to stay away from the fire, the fumes.” Keith said making a gesture before pulling her into a hug.

Veronica let out a loud sob and held her dad tightly back as Logan looked on feeling uncomfortable for witnessing this family moment, which he felt very disconnected from. If his house had burned down no matter where in the town he was Logan’s ass would be grass.

“What happened?” she asked looking over at Logan who looked as worried as her dad.

Keith sighed and looked over at the ambulance and the fire trucks.

“Maybe we should talk about this later.” He said quietly.

“Dad, what happened? How…how did this happen? And where’s mom is she ok? And what about Backup? Was he at work with you today?” Veronica asked worriedly. Since Backup was such a good dog he sometimes got to go to the police station. Since her dad was the Chief no one said anything so it was universally accepted.

She felt a hand grab hers and she knew it was Logan trying to comfort her even in front of her dad. She threw him a grateful look and turned back to her dad’s hardened expression. 

“Your mom’s fine she’s getting oxygen in the ambulance and yes Backup was with me.” He said quietly before rubbing a hand across his bald-head. He sighed and then gestured for them to move away from the burning house and the crowd of policemen, firemen, EMTS, and audience members who used to be neighbors.

“I was at work when I got the call.” Keith began awkwardly looking around to make sure they weren’t heard.

Logan’s grip on her hand tightened and she waited with baited breath for her dad to go on.

“Veronica…your mom…it was an accident.” Keith said quietly not exactly knowing how to break it to his daughter that the reason she didn’t have a home anymore was because her mother got drunk and burned it down.

“What was an accident?” she asked unable to connect the dots.

“I was at work, you were out at this party. I guess she got hungry and tried to make some food, but she was…how she is and ended up…starting a fire.” Keith said taking a deep breath and trying to control the rage in his voice. 

“She says she tried to put it out, but with the state she was in…” he trailed off unable to finish.

“Mom did this?” Veronica asked in disbelief. 

Keith nodded awkwardly knowing that his daughter’s contempt for her mother was about to get a lot worse with this new development. He didn’t want Veronica to see her mother as the bad guy they had been so close at one point, but with everything that had happened he wasn’t sure if any of their relationship could be salvaged. 

“She was—“

“Drunk I know.” Veronica said angrily crossing her arms across her chest and looking at the sidewalk.

“That’s great now we’re homeless because mom can’t control her habit.” She said bitterly.

Logan and Keith exchanged looks over the top of her head.

“So what happens now?” Veronica asked squeezing her arms around her as if it ward off the rest of the world.

Keith cleared his throat anxiously, “Well I was hoping Logan could house you—“

“It’s no problem, sir. My parents would be fine with it and you can stay too.” Logan said quickly.

Keith gave him a tight lipped smile and shook his head, “I’m actually going to take Lianne to rehab. I think it’s time we address this.” He said looking over at Veronica carefully.

She nodded, “How long will you be gone?”

Keith shrugged, “not that long maybe a week or so I’ll call every day though. Lamb will be in charge while I’m gone.”

Everyone grimaced at that. Suddenly they heard Veronica’s name being called and Lianne emerged from the back of one of the ambulances.

“Oh honey! I’m so sorry! Are you ok?” Lianne asked hugging Veronica tightly to her.

Veronica froze in her spot looking at her mom incredulously. “Am I ok? You burned the house down! I’m so far from ok it’s not even funny.” She snarled pushing her mother away.

“You need to get help.” She said shaking her head and looking at her dad.

“I don’t want you around my baby unless you get help.” She added moving closer to Logan and grabbing his hand again after it had gotten detached when her mother hugged her.

Lianne felt tears gathering in her eyes and reached out for Veronica. “Please, honey it was an accident. I’ll get better. Please don’t shut me out. Please believe me.”

Veronica shook her head, “you burned our house down! What if I had been sleeping in there or dad? What about Backup! Thank God he was with dad at the station! Now we have no place to live and it’s your fault. Just…please get help if not for yourself than for your family.” She said looking over at her dad who gave her a comforting smile. He pulled her into a hug again and then told her he was going to talk to the chief of the fire department to grasp the damage.

Lianne stared at the two teens wanting to say something else, but not knowing where to start she felt lost and she wanted to make her daughter understand, but she didn’t know if Veronica would be willing to listen.

“Please Veronica don’t give up on me.” She said taking her free hand and bringing it to her face. 

“I gave up on you when you left us. I gave up on you when you wouldn’t even tell me why you left.” She said moving away from her mother.

“Veronica…I love you.” Lianne said one last desperate plea for her daughter to understand.

Veronica frowned and took another step back. “The hero is the one that stays. The villain is the one that splits.” She said before leaving her mother standing there alone. Logan followed after her uncomfortably not knowing if he should say something or just let her stew. He glanced back at Lianne and saw her staring after them with tears in her eyes.

They walked back to the car and stood near it watching everyone run around talking with each other. By this time the fire was out and Keith was talking to the fireman to assess the damage. Veronica moved towards Logan and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She buried her head into his chest and tried to calm herself.

“It’s going to be ok.” He said quietly massaging her back.

Veronica let out a bitter laugh and looked up at him. “How? I have no place to live we have a baby on the way and my mother is a raging drunk who burned the house down. How is that ok?” she demanded to know.

“You do have a place to live, with me. At least now we know where the kid’s going to stay and your mom is going to get some help.” He said kissing the tip of her nose. She nodded reluctantly knowing he was right, but that didn’t make the hurt and anger any less than it was.

Neither of them said anything for awhile watching everyone move around taking care of everything. Finally Keith came up to them with sorrow filled eyes.

“We won’t know anything until I get someone out here to assess the damage. The firemen said that the living room, kitchen, dining room, half of your room, and the guest bedroom is completely burned.” He said regretfully.

Veronica nodded her face a mask of impassiveness. “When are you taking mom?” she asked willing herself not to cry.

“Tomorrow hopefully. I need to call the rehab center and make sure they have an opening, if not I’ll try another. I’m so sorry, Veronica you don’t need to deal with this. Just go to Logan’s I’ve already called Lynn and explained the situation. I’ll call tomorrow with an update.” Keith said bringing her into another hug.

Veronica could feel her resolve breaking and she bit her tongue to hold back the tears.

“Alright. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She said kissing her dad on the cheek. “I love you.” she added as they separated.

Keith smiled, “I love you too honey. Logan take good care of her. Honey, do you want to say goodbye to your mom?” he asked hopefully.

Veronica frowned and shook her head, “no. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She said before turning away and getting into the car.

Logan and Keith shared a look. “Take care of her Logan with her hormones I’m going to assume she’s even more unstable than she’d be normally.” Keith said patting the young man on his back.

Logan nodded, “I’ll keep her safe.”

Keith smiled sadly, “I’m glad I was wrong about you Logan. You’re stepping up and for what it’s worth I’m glad it’s you and not Duncan.” He said quietly before leaving Logan gapping after him. Finally Logan got into the car to find Veronica crying silently.

“Ronnie, sugarpuss?” he said quietly pulling her to him for a hug across the console.

She began to sob in his arms the pain and the anger finally having an outlet.

“How could she do that? Our home! What about our home!” she sobbed curling herself into Logan’s chest.

“Ronnie, it was an accident.” He said trying to sooth her.

Veronica shook her head, “It doesn’t feel like an accident.” She whispered.

Logan sighed and waited for her cried to subside before starting the car and driving back to his house. When he arrived his parents were in the living room waiting for them. Immediately Lynn wrapped Veronica in a hug and that set her off again. Aaron looked at Logan with hard eyes.

“What happened?” Aaron asked as Lynn led Veronica away to one of the guest rooms probably right near Logan’s.

Logan shifted uncomfortably feeling guilty for a fire he had nothing to do with when his dad looked at him like that. “Her mom burned the house down.” He said eventually.

Aaron shook his head, “Well I think it’s good that she’s going to stay here. You guys can figure everything out and then the baby can live here.” Aaron said nonchalantly.

Logan cast him a confused look, “You’re happy about this?” 

Aaron shrugged, “Why wouldn’t I be? My grandchild’s going to live here and now that everything’s sorted with the press there shouldn’t be anymore surprises.” He said before clasping Logan on the back.

“There won’t be anymore surprises, right?” Aaron said a threat in the undertone of his voice.

Logan nodded not willing himself to speak afraid that it would come out in a stammer or worse a tremor. 

“You better go find your girlfriend.” Aaron said before pushing him a bit towards the stairs.

Logan began to follow the path his mother and Lynn took finding them easily enough in the guest room across from his. His mother was giving Veronica pajamas to change into and telling her she’d make some tea. Once Lynn was gone Logan came into the room and sat on the bed beside her.

“This has been some night.” She muttered resting her head on his shoulder.

Logan chuckled, “it really has.” He said pulling her closer. She smiled softly and looked up at him before kissing him gently on the mouth. He pulled her even closer forgetting his mother would be back with the tea.

Veronica opened her lips in invitation and he slid his tongue inside caressing hers with the same sweetness she was kissing him with. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers into his hair as their sweet kiss turned more frantic and passionate. Logan’s hands intertwined into her silky tresses and they shifted around as Logan gently laid her on top of the bed careful not to put too much of his weight on her. His hands moved from her hair to caress her body stopping at her enlarged breasts to touch them through the fabric of her dress. She let out a little moan as her nipples hardened under his fingers and his tongue teased hers. He grinned loving the little sounds she made. His hands moved down her body until one rested on her bump and the other continued to tweak her nipple.  
Both of them were too caught in the moment to notice Lynn come back with the tea.

“Oh!” Lynn exclaimed turning around in embarrassment. Logan and Veronica jumped apart in surprise and humiliation.

“Tea?” Lynn said holding up the tea and turning back around her face a pretty red.

“Please.” Veronica said standing up and taking the tea.

Lynn gave her a mortified smile before mumbling about going to bed. Logan and Veronica stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Such a weird night.” She mumbled sipping some of her tea before sitting back beside Logan.

Logan nodded in agreement. “Are you going to be ok?” he asked eventually.

She shrugged, “and if I’m not? Then what?”

Logan smirked, “there are a bunch of shrinks I know. Only because I’m too damaged to be fixed, but for you I’m sure they’ll work.”

She raised an eyebrow, “If you’re too damaged to be fixed where does that leave me?”

“With me of course. Two damaged people equals one normal person. Besides that’s probably why this is working so well.” He teased.

She smiled slightly, “I’m not sure if that’s how it works. I think it’s working so well because we like each other. Disregard the little vegetarian and everything else. I think it’s just plain old fashioned chemistry.” 

“Could be or you’re attracted to my chiseled body and riches.”

“And you’re attracted to what? My poor disposition and pension for troublemaking?”

“Something like that.” he said as she leaned forward to kiss him again.

“So are you ready for bed?” he asked as they moved away.

She smirked, “After a kiss like that? I don’t think so.” She said.

“Well I could entertain you some more with my fabulous kissing abilities and possibly some other infamous abilities in the bedroom, but I think our night has been jam packed full of legendary mishaps and stories for the future.” He said giving her a look.

She pouted.

“I mean if you want I could demonstrate my ability to make you come without using my hands or how nice I look in my birthday suit.”

She blushed, “you’re an ass.”

He chuckled, “but I’m yours.”

“That you are.” She said with a grin.

They kissed one more time before Veronica got up and went to the attached bathroom to brush her teeth with the extra toothbrush Lynn had found and to change into her pajamas. Logan waited for her and when she emerged they kissed again before Logan made way to leave.

“Stay with me?” she whispered as he turned off the light.

Logan didn’t need to be asked twice as he made his way into her bed taking his shirt and pants off as he went. She tried not to stare at him body, but she was a girl and he was her boy so she figured she was allowed just a peak. Or stare really. She pulled him close and snuggled against him.

“Always.” He mumbled wrapping an arm around her and getting impossibly close. She breathed in his scent as it lulled her to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Dick rang the doorbell bright and early with a grin on his face.

“What are you doing here?” Logan asked answering the door.

“Surfing dude. The waves are killer.” Dick said.

Logan opened his mouth to tell him he had plans, but one look at the hopeful look on Dick’s face he felt he should go. Dick had been a good friend, despite everything even though he had made some comments. Now that he and Madison were done though he seemed much warmer to the relationship between him and the marshmallow. Besides he needed a friend that wasn’t part of Veronica’s group of misfits. Plus now that Duncan had officially gone insane he needed a dude to hang out with. As much as he liked Wallace, Wallace couldn’t surf and he didn’t have the penchant for trouble and charm that Dick did. Dick had a tendency to not realize what was going on and sometimes Logan needed that in his crazy life.

“Sure.” Logan said turning around to go back inside. He went back to the breakfast nook where they had been eating breakfast.

“Richard!” Lynn exclaimed happily seeing the blonde surfer.

“Good morning Mrs. Echolls, Mr. Echolls, Ronnie. Can Logan come out to play?” Dick asked hopefully.

Everyone looked at each other in amusement.

“It’s fine with me. Veronica and I were going to go shopping later so that’s perfect.” Lynn said as Aaron nodded absentmindedly.

“I have a photo shoot in LA that I have to go to. I’ll be gone for a few days. It’s Men’s Fitness you know.” Aaron said smiling at them.

“We were just talking about going to the beach so that’s perfect.” Veronica said smiling widely.

“Are you sure? I mean after last night—“ Logan began.

“It’s fine, like your mom said we have to go shopping again after…last night.” Veronica said uncomfortably.

Logan sighed and came over to her side of the table before leaning down and kissing her sweetly on the lips. “I’ll see you later?” he said.

She nodded and watched as he lay a gentle hand on her bump before going off to change and out with Dick. Once they left Aaron went to his study and Lynn went to go get ready to go out. Veronica sat in the living room reading a book she had to read for class when the doorbell rang. She got up with a sigh and went to answer the door a little self conscious she was in her pajamas still, but everyone else seemed to be ignoring the doorbell so she figured she might as well answer it.

She opened the door with a smile plastered on her face, but it slide off just as quickly when she saw who was on the other side.

“Duncan.” She gasped her eyes going wide. So much for having a drama free day she thought staring at her ex.


	23. The Apology

Chapter 23 The Apology

Veronica stared at her ex in shock not knowing whether or not she should invite him in or just close the door in his face.

“Veronica.” Duncan greeted his voice dignified and his gaze on the room behind her.

“Is Logan here?” he added fidgeting.

Veronica cleared her throat, “um no actually. He’s at the beach with Dick.” She said quietly.

Duncan nodded finally bringing his eyes to rest on her for only a moment before looking away.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you, both of you.” he said uncomfortably.

Veronica bit her lip and looked out at the driveway avoiding his eyes. “Logan’s not here.” She repeated.

“Well then I guess I’ll apologize to you first then.” He said scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Apologize?” Veronica repeated shocked.

He nodded. “Last night I was…not thinking clearly. I may have said some things I shouldn’t have…said.” He said shifting before her.

She raised her eyes and crossed her arms waiting patiently for him to go on.

“I may have insulted Logan, you and your…child.” He said his eyes staring at an area right above her head.

“Go on.” She said.

“I may have said that your child is a bastard and Logan doesn’t…deserve you.” he added his face flaming up from the uncomfortable situation and how he had to apologize for his drunken behavior. He made a mental note never to drink again.

“You called my child a bastard?” Veronica exclaimed feeling her anger flare up at his words.

Duncan nodded sheepishly and plowed on. “I just want to apologize for saying those things and well that day in the journalism room too. I had no right to…do any of that.” he finished quietly.

“You’re damn right you didn’t, Duncan. We don’t want to lose your friendship. I don’t want Logan to lose your friendship, but you seemed to forget that you broke up with me.” She said angrily.

“Because you are my sister, do you know how difficult this has been for me? You’re my sister and I just…I loved you.” Duncan stopped and took a deep breath. He was silent for a few minutes and then finally began to speak again. “I’ve been seeing a therapist and she’s been helping me. Meg has too. They both think I need to confront this…thing between you and Logan and I need to apologize for my behavior. Closure or whatever.” Duncan said reluctantly.

“And what do you think? Do you even want to apologize? Do you even want Logan back in your life?” Veronica demanded to know.

Duncan nodded vehemently. “Logan and I have been friends since we were five of course I want him in my life again. I want you too, but I understand if after everything you don’t see it that way. You have to understand how angry I was, Veronica. After breaking up with you, after Lilly and then finding out about you and Logan…it’s a lot in a few months.” He pleaded.

She bit her lip and looked away not knowing what to say.

“I think you should apologize to him.” She said finally.

Duncan nodded, “I will once I leave here I’m going to go to the beach. I just I want there to be no hard feelings even after everything and the way I treated you. It’s been difficult seeing you guys together, but…I have to deal with it.” He added hesitantly.

She frowned, “Is that how you really feel? Are you really over me? Is your therapist helping you, really?” she demanded to know. She wasn’t going to forgive him so easily after everything he said and did if he was just saying it to make himself feel better.

Duncan nodded, “Yeah that’s how I really feel.” He said finally meeting her eyes.

“And what about me? Are you over me?” she asked quietly.

Duncan hesitated and then looked down. They stood quietly for a moment neither moving at all or saying anything.

“I think you should apologize to Logan.” She said again stepping back and going to close the door.

“Wait.” Duncan exclaimed grabbing the door to stop her. She looked at him wide eyed and he quickly let go. “My parents are going to go through Lilly’s room, you know clean it out. I thought it would be nice if you and Logan helped out, maybe took some stuff you might want? Besides I think Lilly would prefer us to clean her room out rather than our parents.” He said quietly his eyes flickering between hers and the doorway.

Veronica nodded, “Yeah sure. When?”

“Next weekend.” 

She nodded again and gave him a sad smile. “Thanks.” She said before closing the door. Duncan stood there for a moment before turning and going to his car to drive to the beach.

When he got to the beach he sat in the car for a long time watching Dick and Logan surf in the sunny midmorning. Finally he got out of the car and began to walk towards the ocean. He knew exactly when Logan saw him since Dick pointed to him and yelled something indistinguishable into the sunny air. Logan stared at him for a moment before catching one more wave and coming to the beach fury written on his face. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Logan yelled planting his board in the sand before advancing towards Duncan. 

Duncan held his hands up in surrender and took a step back. “Woaw. Logan, calm down I wanted to—“

“You wanted to what? Call my kid a bastard again! Call Veronica slut? Call me a—“

“I wanted to apologize.” Duncan said quickly cutting him off.

Logan stared at him blinking rapidly at the words that came out of Duncan’s mouth.

“Apologize?” he asked scowling.

Duncan nodded eagerly. “About last night. It was…I was drunk last night and that’s not an excuse, man, but you gotta understand how completely screwed up the last few months have been. I lost my girlfriend, my sister, you, my sanity for God’s sake! It’s just…I got drunk last night and I let everything pour out and I had no right to do that.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed at him. “You didn’t lose me, dude. You pushed me away when Veronica and I came to you to explain the situation. We wanted you to know first. You’re important in our lives and we didn’t want to hurt you.”

Duncan looked away letting a bitter chuckle escape his lips. “I’ve been hurting since I found out Veronica was my sister. Everything’s so screwed up.” He breathed s  
shaking his head.

Logan regarded him silently not sure whether he should kick his ass after last night or give him a bro hug for dealing with so much.

“She’s not your sister.” He said after a long silence.

Duncan looked up at him shocked. “No my dad he…no that’s…she is.” He stuttered.

Logan shook his head, “she took a paternity test. She’s not.”

Duncan frowned, “Then…why didn’t she tell me earlier.”

“Earlier when?”

“I went to your house to find you and she answered the door…” Duncan trailed off replaying their conversation. Logan watched him silently not fully knowing how he felt about Duncan and Veronica talking. He knew it was going to happen especially if they became friends again, but he couldn’t help but let his insecurities and fear of losing her rise to the surface.

“So we aren’t siblings?” Duncan asked after a long moment.

“No. She’s a Mars one hundred percent.”

Duncan nodded, “right well anyway I just I wanted to say I’m sorry for how everything’s been since Lilly died.”

Logan tensed at her name. The hurt he still felt over her death very much still there just like how Veronica felt over her death. They hadn’t really talked about Lilly or her death with everything that was going on, but it was still very much there and just one of the many things they needed to discuss.

“Me too.” Logan added quietly.

“I hope maybe we can be friends again.” Duncan added.

Logan nodded, “Me too.” He said.

Duncan gave him a tentative smile and they did an awkward handshake. “So we’re good?” he asked nervously.

“Are you doing to go after my girlfriend now that’s she’s not your sister?” Logan said tactlessly.

Duncan shifted uncomfortably, “No she’s pregnant.” He said as if that solved everything.

Logan observed him for a moment not trusting his answer in the slightest, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to be friends with the guy he’d known since age five. He wouldn’t let a girl come between them even if it was Veronica.

“My parents are cleaning Lilly’s room out next weekend. I told Veronica and I thought you two might want to come, you know take anything you might want or just…it would be better than my parents doing it.” Duncan said quietly.

Logan nodded not even needing to think about it for a second. “Yeah sure we’ll be there.”

Duncan smiled, “good.” They nodded a ‘goodbye’ to each other before Logan went back to the waves and Duncan went back to his car. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Veronica was putting her clothing away that she’d just bought with Lynn when her dad called to give her an update on her mother. 

“Dad.” She greeted a simple smile on her face as she folded a maternity shirt and put it into the wooden dresser in the guest room. She missed her room at home and all of the things she had. She was just glad that she had her laptop and camera along with her school textbooks and homework she’d left in her car. She had never been so glad for her forgetfulness.

“Hi honey how’s Logan’s?” Keith greeted the connection crackling between them.

“It’s fine. Lynn took me shopping. Logan’s out surfing.” She said nonchalantly.

“And everything’s going ok?” Keith asked concerned.

“Yep.” She said popping the ‘p.’

“Good so we’re leaving this tomorrow morning for the rehab clinic I should be back by the weekend.” He said.

“Why is it going to take so long?” 

“I want to make sure everything’s in order before I leave. I know Logan said I could stay at his house, but I’ve been talking to the manager at the hotel and they can give me a good price to stay here. Is that ok, honey?” he asked.

Veronica bit her lip feeling a little weird about staying at Logan’s without her dad, but what could she say really. It wasn’t like she could live in a hotel. “Are you sure? Lynn and Aaron offered the poolhouse up.”

“It’s ok, I’m not going to be home much anyway. I have a lead on the case. I’ll let you know when I get back.”

Veronica frowned, “Ok well call me and let me know how everything goes.” She said.

“Will do and honey call me if anything goes wrong or you don’t feel comfortable. If you don’t want to stay at Logan’s we’ll figure something out.”

“It’s fine, we have a lot to talk about too and if our house is still under construction when the kid’s born then…well maybe Logan’s is the best place.”

Veronica heard rustling in the background and then she heard her father muttering. 

“I have to go your mother is waking up. I’ll talk to you later.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, honey. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He said before hanging out.

Veronica looked at the phone for a moment before setting it on the bed and going back to unpacking the rest of her clothes. Once she was done she plugged her computer in and got out her textbooks to do some homework before Logan came back from surfing. 

She was just thankful Lynn had dropped her off at her car after shopping so she could get her car and see the damage in the bright light of day. She’d gone into the house once Lynn had left and went into her room. Most of her stuff was unsalvageable, but she did find some stuff in the closest was ok. Her clothes were for the most part burned, the stuffed animal collection destroyed, her jewelry melted, and her anger brewing. She tried to find some things she could take with her, but everything had that burnt smell to it and after picking through everything for an hour she decided she was just better off getting new stuff.

She had clothes for the meantime thanks to Lynn and her father giving her money. She had the important stuff like the necklaces from Lilly, the bracelet, her camera, laptop, the white teddy bear, and her schoolwork. But other stuff like the stuffed animal Logan had won her the year before and little trinkets like her book collection, clothes, and posters that hung on her walls were ruined. She tried to tell herself it was just things and you shouldn’t be attached anyway, but it was hard to do when they all meant so much to her and her mother was the one to ruin it.

She was jerked out of her thoughts by her phone vibrating on the mattress. She picked it up to see who was texting her and saw Mac’s name in bold. 

‘What’s up?’ Mac had texted and Veronica let her fingers hover over the keypad wondering if she should tell her what happened or not. Instead she said ‘nothing.’ They texted back and forth for awhile until Mac asked her if she wanted to go to the beach. Veronica figured she could do with the day out and she wanted to see Logan surf a bit so they arranged to meet at the beach in thirty minutes. 

Thirty minutes later Veronica sat on a towel watching Logan surf. He hadn’t noticed her yet and she was thankful for the few minutes of watching him be so carefree.

“Hey Bond.” Mac said sitting beside her.

“Hey.” Veronica said smiling.

Mac gave her a shy smile back and looked over to where the guys were surfing. 

“How are you after last night?” Veronica asked wondering how Mac was doing discovering that Madison had her life.

Mac shrugged, “I guess it could be worse. My house could’ve burned down for one.” She said shooting Veronica look.

Veronica looked away over to Logan laughing in the water. 

“What can I say I’m a danger magnet.” She mumbled.

“What happened?” Mac asked.

Veronica shook her head, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” She said quietly.

Mac nodded, “fair enough.” 

They sat in silence watching the two guys surf.

“Do you think I hurt Dick’s feelings last night?” Mac asked out of the blue.

Veronica smirked, “Do you care if you did?”

Mac shrugged, “I mean he’s nice…ish. I…well actually I just…it was the way he was…looking at me.” She stuttered tucking some hair behind her ear.

Veronica bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Do you have a secret crush on Dick?” she asked bluntly.

Mac blushed and looked away. “After how tactless he was last night no way! Besides he’s so not my type and I barely know him and he’s not that smart and—“

“I get it. I get it.” Veronica said waving her off.

Mac smiled, “He does have a nice body though.” She added in a whisper.

Veronica matched her smile. “So last night were you playing coy with him?” she asked wiggling her eyebrows.

Mac shook her head, “No I really am not interested. Besides it’s not illegal to ogle so…and anyway I like someone else.” She said boldly.

“Oooh! Details please.” Veronica said eagerly.

Mac’s face turned an even deeper red. “Cassidy.”

“Who?”

“His brother.”

“Dick’s brother? Beaver?”

Mac nodded, “we’re in the same computer class. We’re partners for this project and I don’t know we have so much stuff in common and he’s so nice. He’s like the complete opposite of Dick.” She said looking down at the sand.

Veronica smiled widely, “Whatever floats your boat Mac, but remember if you need anything I can help.”

Mac frowned considering her offer. “Anything, like what?”

Veronica’s smile widened as Logan finally spotted them. “You know. Advice. A plan. A cute outfit. Anything I’m here for you.” she said winking at her before getting up and waiting for Logan who was jogging on the beach towards her wet from being in the ocean. She couldn’t help but let her eyes roam his body and lick her lips at the sight in front of her. He came to stand in front of her planting his board in the sand before taking her into his arms and planting a firm and passionate kiss on her lips.

Somewhere in the distance they heard Dick yell ‘get a room,’ but neither of them responded too wrapped up in each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Later that night as Veronica got ready for bed Logan came in to say ‘goodnight’ and hopefully swing an invitation for another sleepover. He figured since she was already pregnant what other shenanigans could they really get into. 

“Will you stay here again?” Veronica asked bashfully.

Logan smirked, “you just can’t get enough of me can you?” he asked watching as she brushed her hair.

She grinned at him instead of responding. He watched her for a few minutes and then when she was finished she sat on the bed beside him.

“Did Duncan come see you?” she asked throwing her legs onto his lap and laying her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah we’re going to clean her room out, right?” he asked playing with the uncovered skin of her legs in the shorts she wore.

“Of course.” She said with a nod.

“Good.” He said before leaning down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. He felt like they hadn’t kissed in ages when in reality it had only been an hour or so. Like with all of their kisses this one turned heated and neither of them noticed how Logan lowered her to the bed both too wrapped up in each other to take in their surroundings. His hands were all over her taking in everything he could reach. 

Suddenly Veronica pulled away and looked into Logan’s eyes taking in the deep brown the mixture of emotions brimming at the surface.

“Are you going to try again with Duncan?” Veronica asked effectively ruining the moment.

“Do you really wanna talk about this now?” Logan asked closing his eyes briefly.

She nodded, “I want to make sure that you guys are going to be friends again.” She said and then lowered her voice. “I just can’t take being the one to ruin…” she trailed off feeling uncomfortable voicing her concerns.

Logan scowled and pulled back slightly one hand resting on her breast and the other her neck.

“Are we seriously talking about Duncan when I’m trying to get into your pants?” he asked bluntly.

She sighed, “Logan Duncan has been your best friend since age five if I ruined that—“

“You didn’t ruin anything.” Logan said cutting her off and looking into her anguished filled blue eyes.

“But your going to try again?” she asked eagerly.

He frowned, “do you really want me to?”

She nodded fervently.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, “can we continue making out if I say yes.”

She grinned and nodded again.

“Fine, but only for you Mars.” He said.

“Like I expect anything different.” She mumbled before pulling him back to her letting their mouths meet before this time Logan pulled away.

“Why are you so eager to make us friends again?” he asked narrowing his eyes at her.

She sighed knowing that his insecurities were floating to the surface. “Because I want you to have friends. You know people you rely on and who care about you.” She said kissing his face and slowly moving down to his neck. She was trying to distract him and for the most part it was working, but he wouldn’t admit it.

“That’s it? You know I have friends right. Dick, Wallace, the guy at the pizza place that gives me free garlic sticks.” he said letting out a little grunt as she kissed a sensitive area below his ear on his neck.

“Of course like I’ve said I just want you. Only you.” she grumbled slowly moving down his body.

She came to a stop at the zipper to his pants. She unbutton the button and unzipped the zipper before going to reach her hand inside. She didn’t forsee Logan stopping her.

“What are you doing?” he asked grabbing her wrist to stop her movements.

“What do you mean?” Veronica asked frowning confused by the breaks he was putting on with their little show.

Logan looked down at her hand hovering above his family jewels. 

“You want to…I mean Veronica we can just make out. No…pressure.” He said his Adam’s apple bopping up and down.

She frowned and moved out from under him sitting up as she did so. She looked down at the ground her mind moving a million miles.

“Did I do something wrong? I figured you’d want to…you know.” She said blushing and making a gesture between the two of them.

He smirked and sat up grabbing on of her hands. “The fact that you can’t even say it…Of course I want to do it again, I just I want it to be special not like the last time.” he said trying to catch her eye as she dodged his gaze.

He could see her blushing and it made his insides flip flop that he was the cause of that pretty pink color. He wanted to have sex with her so badly, but he also knew she was barely if at all ready the first time. The second time he wasn’t going to mess up. He was going to do it right. She deserved to have lost her virginity in a special way and he wanted to give it to her. Especially because she needed a special night after everything that had happened.

“Oh…what do you mean? I mean it’s not a big deal, Logan. We already…it’s not a big deal.” She stuttered.

His smirk widened when he finally caught her eye. “It’s a big deal to me. I mean the last time was just…fucked up and I don’t want to repeat that so…” he trailed off with a shrug. “I want you to have the real Logan Echolls’ experience.”

“Sounds promising.” She said dryly.

“Seriously Ronnie I want you to be ready. I mean I’m already ready since I’m a guy and you’re an amazing girl so I have no problem, but the last time was just…something you didn’t deserve.” He said struggling to find the right words to convey the importance of doing this the right way. He didn’t want to mess anything up with Veronica. Everything was good between them and he wanted it to stay that way.

She laughed, “didn’t deserve? You make it sounds so awful.” She said mockingly.

“We were grieving and drunk and not thinking clearly…obviously. Just let me do this one thing.” He said giving her such an intense look she felt like she couldn’t breath.

She nodded eventually not knowing what else to say and then he kissed her once more before moving up the bed and taking her with him. Logan wrapped himself around her his naked chest pressed against the thin cotton of her t-shirt and the family jewels she had been hoping to get to know pressed snuggly against the cotton of her shorts and his sweatpants. She frowned slightly the horniness she’d been feeling at the front of her mind as Logan’s hot skin pressed against her own. She gulped and tried to close her eyes, but all she could see was Logan above her kissing her, touching her, making her moan. She scowled as she heard his breathing even out and she felt jealous at how easily he fell asleep. 

As she lay there she wondered if Logan was being honest when he said he wanted to wait for the right time. Maybe that was just a ploy not to sleep with her. Maybe he was disgusted by me she thought her fear prickling down her body. Maybe I wasn’t good in bed the first time. Maybe I was too virtuous for him I mean he did go from Lilly to me, she thought the fear flaring up. She closed her eyes trying to remind herself that Logan was sleeping in her bed with her and when the time was right they would have sex again. She just hoped it was sooner rather than later since she was horny as hell. Damn hormones.


	24. The Tapes

Chapter 24 The Tapes

Logan wasn’t sure what he had done because Veronica was being weirder than usual. And that was saying something. She had been distant all week. At first he thought it had something to do with her mom going to rehab and her dad not being in town and deciding to stay in a hotel instead of at the pool house.

As the week went by though she began to get snippy and pull away from him more than he’d like. He couldn’t continue to blame it on the drama in her life anymore there was something definitely wrong.

He began to read the beginning to the second trimester pregnancy books and all he could find was that her hormones would be all over the place. He tried to think of different ways to raise the question of ‘what the hell is wrong with you’ without being just as snippy as she was, but every time he practiced in a mirror it just came out wrong.

It had all started Monday morning when she took an extra long shower and only barely kissed him throughout the day. It slowly escalated to brief touches and kisses that left him wanting more. He wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve the torture of dating her, but barely getting to touch or hold her, but he didn’t like it. And he wanted an explanation.

Finally Friday after school as they sat in his room doing homework he gathered the courage to ask. Well she was doing homework he was reading a comic book. He couldn’t find anything to distract him from her weird behavior and after talking himself into asking her he sat up frustration written all over his face.

“Is it the hormones?” he asked finally.

“Hormones?” she asked typing numbers into her calculator as she did her Geometry.

“Yeah that are making you so…” he trailed off not knowing the exact word for how she was being. She was distant, snippy, and had a tendency to wiggle out of his grasp when he got too close.

“So what?” she asked putting her calculator down and looking up at him.

He sensed danger ahead, but that didn’t mean much for him when she was involved. Yes he knew he should stop while he was ahead, but her weird behavior was driving him crazy.

“Distant.” He finally said settling on a neutral word.

She scowled and looked down at her homework. “Distant? I’ve been distant?”

“Just to me…it’s like you’re…like you don’t want me around or something.” He stuttered avoiding her gaze.

Her scowl softened and she got off the floor where her homework was sprawled out and got onto the bed with him.

“I do want you around.” She said touching his face gently.

“Then why have you been acting so off.” He asked angrily.

She let her hand drop to her lap and she looked down too embarrassed to tell him. She was horny plain and simple and the fact that he wouldn’t touch her because of some sudden chivalrous attitude bothered her. Besides every time he got too close to her she just wanted to jump his bones. Everything about him was unbelievably desirably and she just wanted him. Was that so weird that she just wanted her boyfriend? Like desperately wanted him to the point where it hurt.

She didn’t respond and Logan let out a frustrated sigh running a hand through his hair.

“What did I do, Veronica? Tell me so I can make it better.” He said desperately.

She bit her lip unforeseen tears coming to her eyes. Logan’s eyes widened as he saw the moisture and he began to massage her back wanting to make her feel better and avoid the waterworks.

“You didn’t do anything. It’s me.” She finally blurted out as the tears rolled down her face.

“Ronnie, what’s wrong?” he said as the tears rolled faster.

“It’s stupid and my damn hormones are just…erg.” She trailed off making a frustrated sound and burying her head into her hands.

“Veronica—“ he said trying to coax the truth out of her again.

“I’m horny, ok! I just want you.” she blurted out between her fingers.

He blinked rapidly not knowing if he heard her right.

“What?” he breathed.

“I’m horny and every time you touch me I just…I need you.” she whispered her face still buried in her hands.

He bit his lip trying to stifle a laugh, but a chuckle escaped making her growl through her hands.

“It’s not funny Logan! I feel like I’m going to explode every time you touch me. It’s just gotten worse as the week’s gone on. I’ve tried to take care of it myself, but it’s just not working.” She said taking her hands away from her face, but strategically not looking at him.

He smirked at the image of her ‘taking care of herself’ going through his mind especially since they were only a few walls away. He licked his lips at the picture and he felt himself getting turned on at the thought of her in the shower taking advantage of the showerhead.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he asked the smirk still firmly in place.

“Because you want to do this whole chivalry thing and it’s nice in theory but it’s just I’m going to explode.” She said her voice a mixture of sadness and irritation.

“There are other ways to let steam off besides having sex, Ronnie.” He said a lascivious gleam in his eyes.

She stared at him for a moment before leaning in to kiss him. Really kiss him not just the brief chaste kisses they’d been sharing. She opened her mouth in invitation for his tongue and the kiss turned into a longing both of them had been feeling for each other all week because of their lack of affection towards the other. Logan broke away from her mouth and rained kisses across her face and then down her neck. Suddenly he broke away and looked down at her with a smirk and a dirty gleam in his eye.

“Move back.” He said standing before her.

She frowned, but did what he said. She moved all the way back until her head was touching his pillows. His smirk turned into a wolfish grin and then he got onto the bed in front of her moving in between her legs. She sighed as his lips found hers again kissing her until she was left breathless. Then he trailed his lips across her neck sucking gently on the sensitive spot that made her wriggle underneath him. One hand snaked under her blouse and began to play with the soft skin of her breasts. The other hand moved south to the waistband of her maternity jeans. Veronica let out a garbled moan and wiggled beneath him as he nipped at that sensitive spot.

“Logan…” she moaned wanting to ask him what he was doing, but her thoughts were quickly becoming incoherent as his fingers moved underneath her waistband. She couldn’t think the desire was thickening her mind. She couldn’t say anything the maneuvers Logan were doing cutting the link between her brain and mouth. She could barely even breathe as his fingers dipped into her underwear and finally began to massage her clit.

“You’re so wet.” He mumbled as his lips found hers again swallowing the moan that was coming up the back of her throat.

All she knew was Logan. All she could feel was Logan. All she wanted was Logan. The only thing she could process was Logan.

He pressed his thumb into her most sensitive area and his other two fingers found her opening. He began to caress her hot slick walls with his two fingers curling them slightly as he moved them in and out of her.

She began to move against his fingers creating more friction as his thumb pressed harder against her and his digits began to move faster. She kissed him hard on the lips nipping gently at his lower lip followed by dipping her tongue into his mouth. She could feel a funny sensation in her neither regions as if something was rising from within her.

“Logan.” She whimpered feeling the foreign feeling overcome her. Suddenly she stilled around his fingers and began to convulse rapidly as her orgasm finally took over. He slowly brought her down to reality and removed his fingers from inside her. She smiled slightly seeing his one hand still underneath her shirt and she leaned over to kiss him gently on the lips.

“Better?” He asked smirking surprised at how quickly she came undone for him.

“That was…amazing.” She said trying to not blush, but failing epically.

His smirk widened, “why thank you oh beautiful one.” He said.

She blushed even deeper and looked away as his hands continued to play with the skin underneath her shirt.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked suddenly.

“I believe you just did.” She said smartly.

He rolled his eyes and moved his hand off her breasts and to the bump of her stomach.

“Was that the first time…” he trailed off making a vague gesture.

It was her turn to smirk at his bashfulness. “My first time? What? Being pleasured? Orgasming? What?” she asked bolding.

“Was that your first orgasm?” he asked finally.

She bit her lip. “No my first was with you when we had sex. I vaguely remember it, I was just kinda…drunk. This one I don’t think I’ll be forgetting any time soon.” She said running a hand across his face.

He smiled gently. “I’m sorry—“

“Logan, please stop apologizing for that night. It’s over and done with and we are moving on.” She said with a nod as if that solved everything.

He kissed her again sweetly on the lips and pulled her closer wrapping her in his arms.

“So it was good?” he asked after a moment his ego needing a boost.

“Very good. Amazing. Now I just can’t way for the main course.” She said winking at him.

He laughed and kissed her on the forehead and then the tip of her nose. Finally things were getting back to normal.

 

* * *

 

           

Saturday morning Logan and Veronica drove over to Duncan’s in an edgy mood. Neither of them had said much that morning. So far their thoughts were taken over by what was going to happen at the Kane’s. Both were nervous about Duncan, but also about cleaning out Lilly’s room. She had been such a strong fixture in their lives it was still weird that she was gone.

They parked in the Kane’s driveway like he had ever time they hung out and slowly the two got out and went to ring the doorbell. A maid answered with a solemn smile and told them Duncan was in his room. They both went towards the bedrooms neither having to be told where they were. They had spent enough time in the Kane residence after all. They came to Duncan’s door and Logan knocked his grip on Veronica’s hand tightening. Duncan answered almost immediately and a strained smile was planted on his face.

“Are you ready?” he asked his eyes darting between the two of them.

“As we’ll ever be.” Veronica mumbled as Duncan led them to Lilly’s room. He opened the door slowly and the three of them stood there feeling an overwhelming sense of loss. Duncan was the first to enter followed by Logan an impassive look on his face, but Veronica knew he was hurting inside.

They hadn’t really talked about the subject of Lilly, but she knew that he was hurting as much as she was. Neither of them were overly emotional people preferring instead to joke around and deflect the issue instead of dealing with it. Logan’s anger and hatred after Lilly died was a good example and how long it took for Veronica to admit maybe there was something between her and Logan was also telling as well. She knew to move on they should talk about it, but still it was hard and she missed her best friend so it was easier to joke and run from the issue than face it.

The room looked exactly the same as it had the last time she’d been in there. Girly, messy, with a vanity in the corner, her desk that she never did homework on, a closet overflowing with clothes and an unmade bed. The only thing missing were the shoes they found on Abel’s boat. Besides that everything was in place as if she was still with them.

“I’ll go get some boxes.” Duncan said eyeing the folded down boxes Veronica and Logan were carrying.

Logan nodded and Duncan moved past Veronica who was stuck in the doorway. Once Duncan was gone Logan went to Veronica and took her hand slowly leading her across the threshold. Neither of them had to speak to gather what the other was thinking and how they needed each other’s support at this moment. They shared a secretive smile between them and then Logan went over to begin taking down Lilly’s posters and Veronica went to her closet. When Duncan came back he had a few more boxes and they each went to work on a separate area of the room.

The only time they would say anything was when one of them had found something distinctively Lilly and wanted to share a memory of her. No one cried until Veronica moved to the pictures around her vanity Lilly had hung up and—damn her hormones—she was crying. The Homecoming picture set her off and Logan went to hug her as Duncan struggled to remain neutral.

Once she was settled down Veronica began to take the pictures down one by one putting them gently into a pile and into her messenger bag. Once that was done she went through the drawers and found all of the makeup Lilly used and the pink spy pen she had gotten in her cereal box one time. Curiously Veronica looked over at Logan and Duncan to see them quietly talking across the room. She opened the spy pen and unrolled the small piece of paper inside it. As she tipped the pen over to see the paper she suddenly thought better of it and instead put it inside her bag.

She moved on from there and continued putting things into the trash-bag or into boxes. She had taken a few things that she wanted to remember Lilly by. Some jewelry, some books, a notebook they used to write in and pass each other in the hall, some clothes that she’d left here, and some other clothes she had always liked and couldn’t bare to give to charity or wherever Celeste was going to do with them.

Her tummy grumbled as she went through the last drawer of her vanity causing Duncan to chuckle.

“Was that your stomach Veronica?” Duncan called throwing some books into a box.

“Perhaps.” She said finding the screwdriver in the bottom drawer. Suddenly her mind clicked into place replaying an old memory of Lilly putting things she didn’t want Celeste to see in her vents. She came back to reality as Duncan was going on about ordering pizza or Chinese.

“Pizza, but get a separate one for Ronnie her cravings are getting weird.” Logan suggested smirking.

Duncan laughed, “Ok what do you guys want on it?” he asked pulling out his phone.

“We can just get something normal. Veronica what’s your craving of the week?” Logan said drawing her attention away from the screwdriver.

“Banana peppers, mustard, marshmallows, and grilled chicken with barbeque sauce.” She said without thinking too hard about it. She licked her lips at the combination of sweet and salty. Duncan wrinkled his nose.

“I’m not sure if they have marshmallows.”

“Then get the s’mores things I’ll just add it on the pizza.” She said as if it was no big deal.

Duncan frowned and then shrugged, “Fine.” he said before calling the pizza place.

Logan walked over to her seeing her holding something in her hands. “Find something interesting?” he said eyeing the screwdriver.

“Can we stop for ice cream on the way home?” she asked out of the blue.

He smiled, “I swear your cravings have just gotten weirder in the past week. What’s changed?”

“Have you not been reading the pregnancy books?” she said alarmed.

He looked away bashfully. “I have actually, but I’m two weeks behind. Midterms have been kicking my ass.” He said regretfully.

She smiled slowly, “don’t worry I’ll fill you in. I get to maybe feel the baby, my cravings get weirder, I am in more pain, peeing all the time, and I’m horny as hell.”

“I think we’ve already covered the last one.” He said with a smirk.

“The books say ‘have fun’ Logan what do you think that means.” She said giving him a pointed look.

He groaned and looked away, “I thought this discussion was done, Veronica. I want it to be perfect. I want it to be not like the time before! You—“

“Yeah, yeah didn’t deserve it I got it. But just for the record you sound like a girl.” She said kissing him quickly on the lips while Duncan was distracted with the pizza.

Logan opened his mouth the reply, but Duncan cut him off. “Ok pizza should be here soon.” He said coming over to them.

They smiled awkwardly at each other and then Duncan noticed the screwdriver in her hand.

“What’s that?” he said curiously.

“I want to check her vents I’m sure there’s probably something up there.” She said holding the screwdriver tightly and then looking around for a chair.

Logan stopped her with his hand and gave her a look before she sighed, rolled her eyes and moved past him.

“I can get on a chair.” She grumbled pulling Lilly’s desk chair from it’s position and dragging it to the vent.

“Veronica—“ he began but was cut off by her throwing him a dirty look. He put his hands up in surrender and then she got onto the chair ignoring Logan’s mutterings.

She went to unscrew the screws, but frowned when she found them half unscrewed already. She brought the screwdriver up to unscrew them the rest of the way and then reached in finding a piece of paper and three tapes. Her frown deepened as Logan and Duncan helped her off the chair and she held her items up with a confused look on her face.

She noticed Logan’s face paling and she wondered what she’d just found to make him look so nervous.

“I have a—“ Duncan began, but was cut off by Celeste bursting in.

“Duncan! Oh. Hello.” Celeste said taking in the three of them. Her eyes fell on Veronica’s and then drifted to her stomach disdain written on her face.

“Duncan your father wants to talk to you. It might take awhile so you might want to finish up here.” She said eyeing the half packed up room.           

“Mom can’t we—“

“Please Duncan it’s important. Finish up here and then go see your father. We can just get some movers to finish up the cleaning.” She said before clicking her heels away.

Duncan scowled turning to his friends with remorse in his eyes.

“I’m sorry guys, but could you—“

“Sure.” Veronica said putting the tapes in her bag and then quickly going through the rest of Lilly’s room to see if there was anything else she could salvage. She took the stuffed animal Lilly secretly never slept without and some other miscellaneous items she threw into her own box before Logan took it down to the car along with a few other boxes. Once the car was loaded up Duncan said goodbye and then were off back to casa de Echolls.

“We never got our pizza.” Logan said breaking the silence.

Veronica looked over at him nervously. “Logan am I going to find something I shouldn’t in those tapes or something?”

“What?” he asked alarmed.

“You got scared when I got those tapes out of the vent.” She accused crossing her arms protectively over her stomach.

Logan scowled and swiftly pulled the car over turning to look at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

“I have no idea what those tapes are. The note however I do.” He said looking in her eyes.

She raised her eyebrows expectantly and he leaned back in his seat closing his eyes for a brief moment.

“I wrote her a note.” He said quietly.

“Why?” Veronica asked curiously.

“Telling her that we were over that this was just…done. We didn’t fit together if we ever even did. I knew she was seeing someone else when I left for Mexico. I was so angry about you telling on me about Yolanda and the meaningless fights we’d been getting into. In Mexico I couldn’t help but think about it stew over it and I knew I needed to talk to her whether to get her to understand and take me back or just finally break it off for good.” He paused his eyes flickering over at her.

“I came back from Mexico early.” He said finally and she fidgeted in her seat unsure how to take that.

“I got Beaver and Dick to lie to your dad for me saying I was still in Mexico when she died…but I cam back early. I saw you guys at the car wash and I just…I knew that this was it. We were over. So I wrote that note and left a shot glass.” He said looking at her bag.

Veronica looked down her mind working a mile a minute. “I didn’t see you at the car wash.”

“I was across the street. You guys looked so happy she didn’t need me anymore. She was fine on her own and I just knew this was it. I didn’t want her anymore and she didn’t want me. Besides I found myself staring more at you than her anyway.” He said with a slight blush.

She bit her lip to keep from smiling. “You’re such a liar.” She mumbled.

He chortled, “Seriously. I mean sometimes I used to think about what would’ve happened if I’d made a move on you before Duncan. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like if I’d never dated Lilly. I thought about it more often than I’ll admit honestly. Maybe sometime I’ll tell you how long I’ve actually liked you. ”

“Lilly did love you, Logan I know that.” she said trying to comfort him and not knowing what to say about his declaration. She wanted to ask him now how long he had actually liked her and if it matched up with how long she had liked him, but she knew it wasn’t the time.

He gave her a sad smile and shrugged, “just not like how I loved her. But it doesn’t matter anyway it lets me off the hook. Allows me to be able to love someone else.” He said his eyes fixated on her. He was looking at her so fixatedly she was having trouble finding her voice let alone breathing. All she wanted to do was kiss him in that moment. She wanted to convey to him that she cared about him just as much as he cared about her and that she wasn’t Lilly. But instead she pulled out the note from her purse and looked at him.

“Can I read it?” she asked quietly.

Logan nodded.

She unfolded the note and began to read,

_The Dear Lilly I know that you think I’m being melodramatic by writing this letter, but I know if we talked about this we’d end up like we do every argument. In bed. And I don’t want that this time. I think it’s time for us to move on. As much as I love you it’s not enough and as much as you claim to love me you like attention more. I wish I could’ve been enough for you, but I doubt anyone is. We were only good at two things anyway fighting and fucking and this is me ending our self destructive circle. I hope we can still be friends especially since we’ve already seen how Duncan and Veronica are. I hope one day you find what you are looking for._

_Love always_

_Logan_

 

Veronica nodded blinking back tears and looked over at him with a sad smile.

“Do you believe me? I could never hurt her, Ronnie. I loved her.” He said softly.

She nodded again, “I believe you.” she said folding the note back up carefully and putting it in her bag.

He nodded and then pulled the car out of park and began to drive home.

“Do you want to get pizza and ice cream now since we didn’t at Duncan’s?” he asked as he heard her stomach grumble again.

She grinned, “yes please after we drop off the stuff though.” She said as they neared his gated community.

He turned into it and pressed the code before parking in the driveway and taking a box to put inside. She followed after him scowling since he kept telling her he’d carry everything. She opened the doors for him and helped guide him until they were on the last box setting it in Logan’s room for now. She put her messenger bag down tired of carrying it and they were about to leave Logan’s room when Aaron passed the open door.

“Hey kids I was thinking of making dinner tonight.” He said rubbing his hands together eagerly. He frowned when he saw the boxes littering Logan’s floor.

“What’s this?” he said nodding at the mess.

“We helped clean out Lilly’s room today.” Veronica said massaging her shoulder where her messenger bag had rested.

“Huh.” Aaron said looking between the boxes and Logan and Veronica.

“How’d it go?” he asked after a sizable pause.

Logan and Veronica shared a look.

“It was…difficult.” Veronica finally said.

Aaron fixed his face into a sympathetic look. “I’m sure. I’m sorry to hear that, but at least you guys got to do it rather than some strangers.” He said trying to comfort them.

“Our thoughts exactly.” Logan said quietly pulling Veronica towards him.

“So, dinner tonight? Maybe grilling? Veronica can you eat steak?” he asked.

Veronica nodded. “I think so and that sounds great.” She said leaning into Logan.

“Great I’ll go grocery shopping.” He said.

“Actually Veronica and I were going out we’ll just grab the stuff.” Logan said wanting to get out of the house and away from his dad. He figured even if he got any of the wrong ingredients his dad wouldn’t even think of laying a hand on him with Veronica there. They hadn’t talked about it, but the abuse was few and far between now that she moved in. He knew the conversation was going to arise again with Veronica, but after everything else that had been going on he was grateful for the reprieve. His dad was on his best behavior with Veronica around and Veronica hadn’t mentioned his case so he was grateful. As much as he wanted Aaron to suffer for what he had done to him it was sometimes easier pretending everything was ok. At least then he wasn’t going to be humiliated when the truth came out.

“Yeah sure I’ll make a list.” Aaron said leaving the room.

Veronica and Logan followed him and took the list from him when he was finished. He gave Logan a pointed look to get everything on the list and then they left off to ice cream and the grocery store. Neither of them noticed as they left Aaron go back upstairs and into Logan’s room. He searched each box not finding what he was looking for and then on a whim he searched Veronica’s bag finding the three small video tapes that could possibly ruin his life.

He smiled victoriously. “Bingo.” He said grinning sadistically before going to hide them in a safe spot.


	25. The Sex

Chapter 25 The Sex

After coming back from the grocery store they set the ingredients in the kitchen with Aaron and went back up to Logan’s room to sort through some of Lilly’s stuff and watch the videotapes. All through shopping at the grocery store they discussed what was on them. Logan thought it was a video of Lilly having sex with someone and Veronica thought it was just a typical plan old video of Lilly doing something bad, like shoplifting or skinny-dipping. Whatever it was they wanted to find as soon as possible since the suspense was killing them both.

Logan got into his room first and went straight to her bag to begin to search for the videotapes. 

“What’s taking so long?” Veronica whined as she munched on a granola bar above him.

“I can’t find them.” He said confused by the sudden disappearance of the tapes. Veronica huffed and rolled her eyes finishing off her granola bar.

“Never let a man do a woman’s job.” She snarked and took her bag from him and dumping it out on the floor. She frowned not seeing the three videotapes they’d   
found in the vent.

“What the hell!” She exclaimed looking through the various items on the floor. 

“Never let a man do a woman’s job.” Logan mocked glaring at her.

She scowled at him, “Don’t do that right now! I’m not dealing with your attitude when we have more important things to worry about.” She snapped.

“I told you they weren’t in there. Did you lose them?” he asked taking her bag and looking in it for good measure.

“They were in my bag, Logan! You saw me put them in there!” she said angrily.

He continued pawing at her bag like a dog looking for food. “Well they aren’t in there now.” He said throwing the empty messenger bag on the pile in front of them.

Veronica began to sift through the items on the floor wishing that magically the little tapes would appear.

“Are you sure—“ Logan began to ask.

“Yes! I’m very sure. One hundred percent sure I put them in there.” She said picking up the pink pen that lay in the pile.

Logan frowned snatching it from her and looking at it intently. She scrambled to get up as quickly as her growing stomach would allow her to and tried to grab it back from him. He held it too high above her dangling it above her head.

“This looks familiar. Is this Lilly’s?” He teased staring at it high in the air.

“Logan! Come on! Logan! Give it back!” Veronica yelled standing on her tip toes to try and get it back. She would’ve jumped if she wasn’t pregnant, but she had a feeling that jumping while almost five months pregnant wasn’t allowed, much like riding on roller-coasters and skiing. Besides she was already getting pretty off balance taking a tumble was not what she needed.

“Whatever could this be?” he asked easily figuring out how to open it.

She tried to grab the pen from him as he took the small piece of paper out, but it was no use he was too tall and had it too high above her reach. She watched as he read it and his face fell into the dark expression she’d seen after Lilly had died.

“What? What is it?” she asked worriedly as he lowered his hands finally and she took the piece of paper the spy pen pieces falling to the ground.

 

Lil,  
Please call me. How could you? I’ll wait for you always. We can try again Logan will never know. Just please give me another chance. I love you.  
~E

 

Veronica stared at the piece of paper re-reading it until the words blurred together. Who was E? And what was going on between him and Lilly? She looked away from the words and over to Logan who sat on his bed staring blankly into space. She moved to sit beside him and touched his arm gently, but he stiffened and pulled away.

“Logan—“ she began put was cut off by him launching off the bed and beginning to pace the room rage seeping off of him.

She didn’t know what to say to him so she let him try and walk off his anger, but finally when he began to take his anger out on Lilly’s stuff she finally spoke up.

“Logan! Stop!” she screamed reaching for him. He shook her off continuing to kick the boxes they had worked so hard to pack up. 

She tried again to get him to stop by wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him from behind. She felt him tense for a moment, but his movements continued until they finally tapered off and he fell against her tears of angry and sadness rolling down his face. She stumbled under his weight, but caught him as they fell to the bed in a mess of limbs and pain. Logan’s tall body wrapped around her petite frame and neither moved as he continued to cry everything that was and could have been out. Slowly, like the violence the tears slowed and dried, but neither of them moved. Finally Logan spoke his voice raspy from the tears he’d shed.

“Do you know who E, is?” he asked looking up at her with big brown eyes.

She shook her head, “honestly Lilly had so many secrets…sometimes I wonder…” she trailed off her grip on his body tightening wishing she could undo all of the hurt Lilly had caused him.

“I’m sorry Logan.” She whispered pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. He responded furiously wanting to kiss away the hurt and pain the so called love of his life had caused him. His arms around her body tightened bringing her closer and he slide his tongue into her parted lips tangling the two together. 

The kisses turned ardent neither of them knowing anything except the other. The only thing Logan could comprehend was Veronica and Veronica only knew Logan. Their limbs tangled to the point of not being able to tell where one was starting and the other was ending. Veronica’s hand gripped the back of Logan’s neck keeping him at her lips never wanting to let go. Logan’s hands grazed her sides inching the shirt she wore higher and higher up her torso until they had to pull their lips from each other to get it over her head. Her bra quickly was snapped off and Logan’s hands lightly touched the soft mounds as if he were memorizing how they felt underneath his fingers. 

He paused for a moment and looked up at her. She was watching him and he couldn’t help the slight blush that crawled up his neck and into his face. She smiled slightly and the both of them stared into the other’s eyes the different colors mirroring the lust they felt for the other. 

As if coming up from a haze they both snapped out of it at the same time seeking the other like a dying man seeks water. Their lips met with zealous kisses and Logan’s mouth traveled down to her neck sucking on that one spot that drove her crazy. Veronica’s own hands moved under Logan’s shirt caressing the ridged scared skin of his back. She moved away slightly from him to take his own shirt off wanting to look at him as clearly as he saw her. 

She stared at the smooth, soft skin of his chest and took in the scars silently leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to each one on his chest before moving back up to his mouth. She kissed him softly on his lips wanting to convey all of the things she couldn’t yet say. He understood what she wanted to tell him because when he returned the kiss it said all of the things he couldn’t begin to vocalize either. Veronica’s shaking fingers moved from his shoulders down the plains of his skin to the button of his jeans. Only breaking their tender kisses for a moment to look into his face to see if it was ok. Logan’s eyes bore into her making her shiver under his gaze. He didn’t stop her this time as she undid his pants and she let out a sigh of relief. He smirked hearing the release. His hands gently went to touch her breasts again, but this time his mouth joined them lightly nipping and sucking on the soft skin. 

She moaned softly as he tweaked one nipple and changing over to the other one. She closed her eyes for a brief moment enjoying the sensation, but when she felt the motions stopped she looked down to see him looking up at her with a question in his eyes. She nodded quickly trust pouring out of the windows to her soul and he nodded back before briefly kissing her and then going back to his position at her chest. 

He moved down her body and lay a brief kiss on her bump that made her insides tighten at the sight and then he went to the waist band of her pants quickly getting rid of them and leaving her in nothing but white underwear with tiny hearts on them. She blushed a ridiculously cute pink and Logan laughed.

“These are very Veronica Mars.” He mumbled staring down at the cotton underwear.

“I had to get some form of underwear and I’m not about to buy thongs with your mother.” She said embarrassed that she hadn’t had the foresight to wear sexy underwear. Who was she kidding though she was almost 5 months pregnant sexy was not in her vocabulary. 

“Don’t be ashamed, Ronnie I like them. Anyway check out my underwear.” He said giving her a gentle kiss before pulling down his pants and revealing batman boxers.   
She laughed and pulled him back to her.

“Maybe I’ll take you shopping for sexy underwear soon. I liked those ones you had on after the funeral.” He whispered in her ear.

She blushed beneath him knowing he could feel her naked skin heat up beneath his. She remembered those underwear. Lilly had begged her to buy them from Victoria Secret and she’d finally relented. A red lacy thong. The one and only one in her dresser now burnt to a crisp like the rest of her belongings. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to wear that pair the day after Lilly’s funeral, but she had and maybe that was a sign of some sort.

“Don’t get me wrong I like these too.” He added hastily taking her silence for insecurity.

She laughed softly and sought out his lips wanting to feel the comfort of him around her. She could feel him pressing into her center through the cotton of her underwear and she knew it was time to discard the hearts and batman so the show could go on. 

She moved to pull down the waist band of his boxers her eyes drowning in the liquid brown heat of his own. His shaking hands pulled her underwear off and he looked down at her naked body fully taking everything in. He tried to memorize every bit of her like he had the first time, but under his scrutinizing gaze he could see her going bashful. She went to cover up, but he stopped her hand with a shake of his head.

“Don’t you’re…just fucking stunning. Amazing. Gorgeous. Perfect for me. All of the above.” He said before kissing her hard on the lips and trailing down her skin moving his hands to touch her breasts being careful not to put too much weight on her.

“You just as amazing, Logan. Handsome. Incredible. So fucking debonair it makes me insane.” She said wanting to make him understand that she felt the same as he did.

Veronica smiled as her own hand went to his cock and began to caress him trying to remember what she’d read in books and had seen in movies. Logan was the only person she’d done this with and it had only been one other very drunk time. Slowly their breathing got heavier as they petted and moved against each other. Logan was feeling unbelievable hard so he rolled onto his back and rolled Veronica on top of him. She looked at him uncertainly and he nodded.

“Just trust me.” He said grasping her hips and lining himself up to her entrance.

She nodded unable to form a witty comeback her throat too clogged with need. With Logan’s guidance she slowly sank down onto his hard length. At first it was a bit painful as she slowly took him in, but the more she was able to accommodate him the less painful it became. Logan gripped her hips directing her motions until she understood what she had to do on her own. His hands moved from her hips to her breasts and the other one found the tender nub in between her legs. He pinched her clit making Veronica let out a low sexy indescribable noise that made her movements increase in pace and made a shiver go down his spine.

He smiled enjoying the sight of her bouncing on top of him her breasts moving in time with her rhythm and the expression of pure unhindered desire and need on her face. He let out a gasp as she changed angels slightly allowing him to go even deeper and in retaliation he pressed on her clit harder circling the nub slowly and watching as she shuddered above him.

Her hands moved from where they gripped the plains of his chest and they moved up to his arms grasping the biceps as if her life depended on it. She smiled down at him watching as he moved the hand off her breast to her closest hand and captured it in his. He grinned at her his hand moving from her clit momentarily to smack her ass.

“Fuck Logan.” She growled moving forward to press a hard kiss to his lips his hand moving back to circle her most sensitive area. 

Their movements never ceased as they kissed every bit of them connected. He bent his legs slightly and the angel changed again making her gasp into his mouth. He would’ve laughed if she didn’t slide up and off him before gliding back onto him taking him all in one swoop. He nearly choked as the sensation rocked through his body.

“Jesus Veronica.” He rumbled feeling the telling signs of his orgasm coming on.

“You started it.” She muttered her hand tightening around his. He smirked able to tell that she was just as close to the edge as he was. The telling signs of fluttering around his cock informing him that she was dangling at the edge of the precipice like him.

“Let go, Ronnie I promise to catch you, sugarpuss.” He whispered into her ear. She cried out right then her inner muscles clenching around him igniting his own fall into the oblivion. Slowly they brought each other down from their orgasms and Veronica fell on top of him her muscles too tired to move.

“That was…” she trailed off a giggle on the tip of tongue.

He smirked knowing exactly how she felt.

They lay there for awhile until Logan saw that it was nearing dinner time. He knew his parents would come and get them so he ushered them into the shower to bathe quickly before dinner. He smirked to himself noticing Veronica’s funny walk. His ego inflated just a bit at that knowledge. 

“So about these tapes.” She said as they took turns under the showerhead.

He looked over at her watching as she used his soap to wash off. He smiled to himself knowing that once they were done she’d smell like him.

“Do you think you lost them?” he asked knowing she didn’t.

She shook her head, “I think someone took them.” She said giving him a meaningful look.

He frowned, “who do you think…” he trailed off the answer clicking into his mind.

“Why do you think he would do that?” he asked changing the question and knowing she was referring to his father.

She shrugged moving under the facet to rinse off as he took the soap to suds up his body.

“Maybe Lilly knew more about the abuse than she let on.” Veronica said quickly her eyes darting to his face then at the shower wall.

Logan thought about that considering her words. “Well then we’ll find them.” He said as if that settled everything.

She smiled leaning over to kiss him. “Together?”

“Always.” He said moving under the faucet and lathering shampoo into his hands before gesturing for her to come closer. He washed her hair and they finished their shower together before going to dinner. 

Veronica knew that a lot was going on with finding Lilly’s killer, trying to nail Aaron to wall for abusing his son, the pregnancy, her parents, and a million other things that seemed to be piling up, but when she was with Logan everything but the two of them seemed to melt away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Veronica Mars.” The nurse called out gesturing for her to come on back. It was the big 18 week doctor’s appointment and both Logan and Keith were there to support her. They stood outside as she changed into the papery dress and then sat in the chairs to wait for the doctor.

“So are you guys going to find out what the baby is?” Keith asked excitedly.

Veronica looked over at Logan who shrugged. “It’s up to her.” He said waiting for Veronica to answer.

“Well initially I was like I want to be surprised, but now after all of these unexpected surprises I kind of want to know.” She said humming with excitement.

“Good choice, honey.” Keith said smiling at her.

Despite talking to her dad every day she still missed him. After he came back from dropping her mom off at rehab and stopping in Vegas to look into some information about Koontz they tried to have dinner a few times a week. But still it was hard with him working so much and trying to secretly prove Koontz’s innocence and how the Kane’s were secretly covering up Lilly’s murder as well as everything that was going on with her. He was supposed to come over for dinner tonight to eat with Lynn, Aaron, Logan, and herself so that made her happy. She was a little nervous to see how he and Aaron got along, but there’d never been any animosity between them so she figured it would go ok. She was trying to persuade her dad to stay in the pool house, but so far it was to no avail. He liked the hotel he said, but he also wouldn’t tell her how long it would be until people began to work on the house.

She and Logan had been trying all week to find a good time to go into Aaron’s study, but it seemed like he was always around. They couldn’t even look around the house because he always seemed to pop up everywhere. Apparently he was on some time off between movies and didn’t ever seem to leave the house. She figured they could wait a bit until he finally decided on doing some movie role and went away for awhile so they could search his stuff. At the moment that seemed to be the only option.

The week had also been jam packed full of midterms and papers and finally they were finished after the big test she had that morning. Veronica was just glad she had the foresight to schedule her appointment Friday afternoon so she had enough time to turn in her papers and take her tests and get her homework for the weekend before going to her appointment with Logan.

The doctor was running late so they waited longer than they were used to until she came in. She said hello to Keith and asked Veronica her usual questions and began to check her vitals. She asked Veronica if she had felt the baby kick yet and Veronica gave a sad answer of no.

“It’s ok, sometimes it takes a bit longer. It’ll feel like butterflies.” She said looking at the computer screen and going down the list. 

“When can we feel the baby?” Logan asked gesturing to himself and Keith.

The doctor smiled, “not until much later. Veronica should be feeling it soon probably within the next few weeks.” She said trying to calm Veronica’s nervous expression.

The doctor began to ask about diet and as she took her blood pressure began to make little notes.

“Have you been stressed lately?” the doctor asked looking at the numbers.

Veronica looked over at her dad who sighed, “Our house…burnt down.” 

The doctor stared at him for a moment trying to compose her face. “I’m so sorry. Um…are you in—“

“I’m staying at Logan’s.” Veronica quickly cut in.

“Oh well that’s good.” The doctor stuttered before going back to the computer. The tech came in then and began to set up for pictures. She asked Veronica to lay on her side and she began to take internal pictures from every dimension that was possible and everything that was going on inside her uterus. The appointment took over an hour and by the end all three of them were ready to go.

“We just have two things left to do.” The doctor said giving them a sympathetic smile.

“Hopefully quick things.” Logan muttered anxiously. He had gotten nervous way before when he saw how many pictures they were taking. Was something wrong with the baby? How many pictures did they need to get anyway? Should he be worry? 

Keith gave him a meaningful look and Logan sat back trying to subdue the taping of his foot. 

“Here are your pictures and I just have to take some blood work and then you can let me know if you want to know the sex.” She said. 

Veronica and Logan exchanged looks and they both nodded in unison as the doctor took Veronica’s blood and then handed them each a picture of the growing fetus.

The image of the fetus was still on the screen the heartbeat echoing through the room. Like before everyone seemed to be in awe. The doctor explained where the parts were and everything so that they could fully understand and see what was going on. Once she was done she gave them a bright smile and revealed the sex of the child.

“Congratulations! It’s a boy.” She said leaving the room speechless.


	26. The Son

Chapter 26 The Son

Logan wasn’t sure how he was feeling at the news that the baby was a boy. Him and Veronica hadn’t talked about what they’d prefer, but secretly he’d wished for a girl. A girl would be simple he could handle a girl, but the knowledge of the baby being a boy was not as simple as he’d hoped. He knew he wasn’t his father, he knew that, but that didn’t stop the doubt from creeping in. 

Immediately as the doctor delivered the news he could feel his stomach drop in anxiety and he knew that this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. A little boy, like him suffering at the hands of his own father. Would he be the same? Would he turn into the man he’d grown to loath so much? Would his son suffer at the hands of him? Would Veronica become like his own mother, like her own? Drowning her sorrows in a bottle of vodka? He knew that this was supposed to be a happy moment that he should be thankful that the baby was healthy and normal and that he finally got to know the sex, but in reality he felt scared. Scared he’d end up like his father and scared that he’d be a disappointment to his own kid.

For some reason finding out the sex was even more real than when he’d heard the heartbeat or found out she was pregnant. Now everything was clear and he knew that the time would come soon to step up and be a dad and protect his son from all of the world’s evil. 

His son. 

Son. 

Fuck, he thought as they walked out of the doctor’s office and towards the car. He was going to have a son. He was going to turn into his father. He was going to be a disappointment. He could feel his doubts weighing upon him and he felt his chest crushing under the weight of self-loathing he was feeling.

“Hey are you ok?” Veronica asked slowing her pace to match Logan’s. She took his hand gently and pulled him closer to her wanting to comfort him and wipe the deer in the headlights look from his face.

“Good. Fine. Fan-fucking-tastic.” he sputtered out absentmindedly as they neared the car.

“Logan…” she trailed off wanting to talk to him, but not around her dad. As much as she wanted her dad to know the truth she knew that now wasn’t the time. Now she had to make sure that Logan didn’t spiral downward at the news he was going to have a son. 

They hadn’t voiced their own concerns, but she knew his as much as she knew her own. They were both afraid of becoming their parents that much was certain. Logan she knew wasn’t going to become Aaron, but she had to figure out a way to convince him of that. He always doubted himself so much and she wanted to fix that. She wanted him to see himself how she saw him instead of the warped version that Aaron and Lilly instilled into him.

She took a deep breath and looked for the words to comfort him, but nothing came to her and instead she slowly let the air out of her lungs and squeezed his hand in hers. He continued to look like a lost kicked puppy and she ached to make the look go away and his usual mischievous air appear.

“This is so exciting! You can name the baby after me.” Keith said as they finally reached the car.

Veronica forced a smile on her face. “You wish, but we haven’t gotten to the point of even discussing names.” She said looking back up at Logan. He gave her a small distant smile and she sighed knowing that it was going to be a long night.

They climbed into the car and Keith drove them to the Echolls’ mansion. The ride was a mixture of emotions sizzling in the air. Keith was excited, Veronica worried, and Logan distant. Finally they arrived at the mansion and they all got out and went inside to find Aaron and Lynn in the living room talking about a script Aaron was considering.

“Keith! How are you?” Aaron said shaking the other father’s hand before offering him a drink. Keith accepted a beer and the two went to the kitchen to have a drink together. 

Lynn took one look at Logan’s face and her smile dropped. “Did something happen at the doctor’s?” she asked looking between the two.

Veronica shook her head planting another polite smile on her face. “No everything looks healthy. Here’s a picture.” She said handing her the sonogram.

Lynn smiled looking at the picture before looking over at her son who was quiet and withdrawn staring off into space.

“So what’s—“ Lynn began but was cut off by Aaron jogging into the room a grin on his face.

“Lynn! It’s a boy! They’re having a boy!” Aaron exclaimed before zeroing in on Logan his smile twisting slightly to be filled with malice.

“You can call it Aaron Jr.” he said excitedly before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Veronica felt her stomach twist at the thought of naming her child after a psychopath and Logan shot up off the couch and stalked up to his room slamming the door loudly. Veronica sighed sharing a look with Lynn. Lynn gave her a sympathetic look and then nodded to the stairs that Veronica should follow.

With trepidation Veronica did just that. She followed Logan to his room and knocked lightly on the door waiting for him to say something. When there was no reply she decided to open the door anyway. She found him sprawled on his back the sonogram in his hand as he twirled in between his fingers.

“Hey.” She said softly coming further into the room and going to sit near his head.

“I know you’re scared.” She said in the same soft tone. She wasn’t sure what to say or how to make him feel better. She knew from previous experience that if she tried to talk to him about his feelings he’d lash out, much like she did. But she also knew that this was something they couldn’t push away. 

The situation was there in their face and they had to deal with it and she’d prefer to deal with it together because she knew exactly how he felt. He was scared. She was scared. Both of ending up like their parents. But she also knew Logan’s fear ran deeper than her own now that he knew that the baby was a boy.

“I’m fine.” he said closing his eyes briefly as her fingers began to play with his hair. Whether from wanting to sooth him or wanting to distract herself from the conversation she wasn’t sure, but she continued fiddling with his hair.

“I’m scared too, Logan.” She said her voice crackling slightly on his name.

He shifted slightly his head resting in her lap and the picture continued to twirl in his fingers his eyes never leaving the sonogram.

“I don’t want to name him after my dad.” He said quietly.

“I know and we won’t. Hell we don’t even have to name him after my dad.” She said.

“But I like you’re dad. He’s a descent guy. Doesn’t hit kids or prey on them. Hell he’s the uncorrupt Sheriff.” He said.

“Logan I need you to tell me what’s wrong so we can fix this. I don’t want the kid to come and you be afraid—“ Veronica started.

“I’m going to turn into my dad.” He said cutting her off.

She sighed searching for the words to quell his fears.

“No you won’t. I won’t let you, just like I’m not going to become my mother because you won’t let me. You wouldn’t hurt a kid, Logan especially if it’s yours.” She paused knowing her words weren’t convincing him. “You’re dad’s his own special brand of psychotic bastard and you aren’t anything like him. You’ve never been anything like him and I doubt you’ll start now.” She said leaning down to press a chaste kiss again his forehead.

Logan let out a pleasant sigh, “How do you know that?”

“Because I’m smart and I know you and I trust you. I trust you wouldn’t do that to our son and I know you wouldn’t do that to me or anyone else you lo—care about.”   
She said biting her tongue at her accidental slip. She didn’t mean to say ‘love’ she didn’t know if he loved her. She could only speculate after all, but she knew he nor she was ready to voice their emotions. The emotions they kept very hidden inside.

“And you’ll keep me inline?” he whispered his eyes still trained on the sonogram picture.

“Always.” She said leaning down to kiss him on the lips. She felt him smile slightly beneath their kiss and she hoped she did the job of making him feel better. She couldn’t do this alone she needed him and a more important bigger part of her wanted to make sure that he understood he wasn’t his father. He wasn’t going to hurt their son, he wasn’t going to drive her to drink, they wouldn’t be their parents.

“Come on I think dinner is almost ready.” She said taking his hand and trying to get him to come downstairs with her.

“One more minute.” He said pulling her back to him.

She smiled and he leaned up to kiss her pressing a gentle kiss to her lips making sure to try and convey his emotions in that simple kiss. He wanted to thank you for telling him what he needed to hear and to tell her he was appreciative of her, but he couldn’t voice those words choosing instead to show her with a kiss.

From a distance they could hear Lynn yelling for them and soon after they made their way downstairs both happier then before.

The dinner with Keith, Lynn, and Aaron wasn’t anything special. Keith regaled them with tales of what was going on in the police department and Aaron told them about this new movie he was considering. Questions about the baby were brought up and another invitation for Keith to stay in the poolhouse was thrown out. 

Eventually it was getting late and Keith had to leave. Veronica walked him out the door making him promise they’d have dinner a few times next week. She missed her dad. It was nice living with Logan, but frequently she missed her dad. Her mom was another story, but her dad was her rock and she was having a hard time adjusting to everything without him. For some reason he refrained from telling her about the house or her mom, probably because of what they’d learned at the doctor that day about her stress levels.

“You need to take it easy, Veronica.” Her dad said giving her that look that meant business.

She was saying goodbye to him out on the driveway. She kept giving him hugs not wanting him to leave.

“Why can’t you just let me know about the house? I mean I don’t mind staying with Logan, but…I miss our house. I miss you.” she admitted quietly her arms itching to hug him again.

Keith smirked, “wow honey, I didn’t realize living in a mansion was so difficult.” His eyes softened and he touched her arm gently. “What’s really going on? Are you not comfortable here?” he asked.

She opened her mouth tempted, like always to tell him that the man he’d been joking with earlier was a monster, but she knew she couldn’t do that to Logan. She bit her lip and looked away her heart hurting at keeping the truth from her father.

“I’m fine here I just miss you.” she said quietly staring at the driveway.

Keith smiled sadly. “We’ll move back in soon. I just have to hire a contractor and all these people to work on the house. It’s going to take awhile. Just enjoy your time with Logan. I wouldn’t say that normally, but you’re pregnant and you’re going to need all the relaxation until the baby comes.” He said kissing her briefly on the forehead.

“Call me about dinner.” She said hugging him again before stepping back and watching him get into his car. She gulped back some tears threatening to spill over and watched as he left the gated driveway. She stood outside staring off into nothing before finally going back into the house and to Logan. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mac? Mac! Hello Mac-Attack!” Veronica said waving her hand in front of her face.

Mac looked up at Veronica who had just sat down beside her at their table out on the Quad. Veronica held a bagged lunch in her hand and some books in the other. 

She set them down sloppily and then raised an eyebrow at Mac as if knowing what she’d been staring at.

“Hey! What’s shakin?” Mac said turning red under Veronica’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Who were you staring at?” she asked curiously.

Mac shook her head, “No one just you know thinking.”

“Does this person’s name begin with a C and end in a Y?” she asked smirking at Mac’s rapidly red growing face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mac mumbled clearing her throat uncomfortably.

Veronica’s smirk widened as she began to take out her food items.

“You know I think you should just ask him out.” She said staring at the healthy lunch Mrs. Navarro had packed her. Since she was pregnant she had the excuse to pack her lunch and not eat the cafeteria items they called food.

“No.” Mac said sharply.

“Seriously it’s not a big deal. Just do it.” Veronica said giving her a significant look.

Mac blushed and looked away. “I-I can’t.” she stuttered tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Why not! You’re pretty! And awesome! And smart! I’ll even help dress you.” she said smiling widely. She cringed inwardly realizing how much she sounded like Lilly when she was trying to get Veronica to ask out Duncan. The smile on Veronica’s face dropped a little remembering a time in the not so distant past when Lilly was egging her on to ask Duncan out and offering to dress her.

“Hey sugarpuss.” Logan said bending down to kiss her before stealing a carrot stick.

“Hey! Pregnant here can’t steal from pregnant chicks.” She said slapping his hand away.

Logan chuckled dropping a pizza box onto the table and watched as her eyes widened slightly at the smell.

“You’re evil.” Veronica said taking a small slice and eating it as Wallace came to join them grinning from ear to ear.

“Well I did it.” He said giddily.

“Did what?” Mac asked taking a slice.

“I joined the basketball team.” He exclaimed as the three of them cheered at his declaration.

“Now all Mac has to do is face her fears.” Veronica said giving her a pointed look.

Mac looked down at her cafeteria food and blushed.

“What’s Mac gotta do?” Logan asked curiously eating his own slice of pizza

“Ask—“

“Veronica!”

“Ok! Ok!” Veronica said holding up her hands in surrender. She glanced over at Cassidy and Dick sitting at the 09er table and suddenly got an idea.

“Hey Logan what are we doing this weekend?” she asked curiously.

He shrugged, “Dad’s going out of town for that audition and mom’s going with him.” He said.

“Perfect! How about we have a few people over you know nothing big, that way Mac can hang with her crush and we can you know be social and do that…” she trailed off giving him a look.

Logan smirked following her train of thought. “Yeah ok. Who do you want over?”

“Us four obviously and I guess Beaver and Dick.” She said smiling.

“Can Georgia come?” Wallace asked eagerly.

“Sure.” Logan said shrugging. 

“Excellent.” Veronica said grinning merrily at Mac’s horrified expression. “Don’t worry everything will be fine.” she said trying to calm her down.

“What about Duncan and Meg aren’t you guys cool with Duncan again?” Wallace asked as Mac zoned out again.

Logan and Veronica exchanged uncomfortable looks. “Well we are, but—“ Veronica began.

“Are Duncan and Meg dating?” Logan asked cutting her off.

Wallace shrugged, “That’s what the rumor is, but I figured you guys would know better.”

The couple looked at each other asking with their eyes if they knew that bit of information.

“We don’t know anything about that.” Logan said finally.

“So should we invite them?” Veronica asked uneasily.

Logan shrugged, “I guess, why not…”

The both of them exchanged another look neither knowing if they really should invite them. They had formed an uneasy acceptance with each other after Duncan’s apology. They had seen each other in the halls and a few times at the beach, but were they ready to hand out again?

Mac risked another glance over at Cassidy, but right as she looked over at him Dick turned seeing her staring. He smirked at her making her turn back around quickly blushing again for being caught staring by Cassidy’s brother. No one noticed her stained red cheeks and she buried herself into her lunch the rest of the period.

Veronica’s mind was working on over drive as she thought about that weekend. Finally Aaron was leaving which meant she was free to look through his study for the tapes and hopefully look in the pool house for any other clues. She still hadn’t forgotten finding Lilly’s bracelet there. She knew all of these were connected she just had to find out how and she was determine do so.


	27. The Search

Chapter 27 The Search

“Thank God, I thought they’d never leave.” Veronica muttered watching Aaron and Lynn back out of the driveway from the living room window. Logan came up behind her gazing at his parents leaving and wrapping his arms around her his hands resting on her growing stomach.

“Just you and me, sugarpuss.” He mumbled leaning down and peppering butterfly kisses on her neck.

She groaned loudly and quickly moved out of his arms knowing what will happen if she doesn’t act fast.

“We have things to do, sir.” She said poking him gently in the chest.

He rolled his eyes and caught her hand poking him. “Can’t that wait? At least for an hour or two. I want to hear how loud I can make you scream.” He said leering at her in just the way that turned her stomach to warm goo and made her clench her thighs tighter together. 

She shivered despite herself and yanked her hand away before flouncing over to Aaron’s study.

“Ronnie come on! They’ll be gone until Monday! We have all weekend.” He whined following her.

“I still can’t get over that they left us alone in the house.” She mumbled taking out her lock picking tools from her messenger bag she’d left near the sofa earlier.

“Because you’re already pregnant what other terrible things can we get ourselves into.” He said watching as she picked the lock. She grunted trying to wiggle the tool around in the lock desperate to hear that click.

“I may be pregnant, but I’m not any less terrible.” She said smirking as the click finally sounded.

Logan smiled slightly as the door opened. “What do you think we’ll find?” he asked as he walked in tentatively. He was glad the staff had the weekend off his mom had sent them home when they were at school earlier in the day so no one would be a witness to their snooping.

“Rubies, gold, doubloons of course, you know typical everyday treasure.” She said grabbing her messenger bag and walking in after Logan. She heard him intake some air and she looked at him concerned.

“Is your conscience getting to you Echolls?” she teased watching as his face transformed from happy to something unreadable.

He looked away choosing to ignore her teasing tone and instead began to look around.

“What are we looking for?” he asked flicking through some scripts on the desk and then moving to look at the various posters of his father on the walls.

“The tapes and maybe some evidence to prove what an arrogant ass-face douchebag he is.” She said flipping through papers on the desk while waiting for the computer to boot up.

Logan chuckled, “and what exactly does that entail? A folder labeled ‘everything bad I’ve done’ come on Ronnie he isn’t stupid enough to leave anything out. We’ll be lucky to find the tapes. They could honestly be anywhere.” He said sprawling out in the chair behind the desk as Veronica continued to search the drawers waiting for the computer.

She tossed him an annoyed look, “Logan I want to find those tapes obviously there’s something on them he doesn’t want us to see and I think if we look hard enough maybe we can find some evidence about the abuse. Maybe hospital visits or—“

“We’ve been over this Veronica.” He said glad she didn’t notice or say anything about him wincing at the word ‘abuse.’ “There’s nothing. No proof other than to tape him and he’s not going to do anything with you here.” He said looking down at the trash beside his desk.

Veronica sighed, “As thankful as I am for being here and for derailing the abuse for now it’s not going to stop. I’m going to leave soon and you’ll still have to deal with him except this time we’ll have a kid to think about and frankly I don’t want him anywhere near our son.” She said shuffling through the desk and not noticing Logan’s hardened expression.

“Leaving? When are you planning on leaving?” Logan asked feeling his insides twist at the thought of her not being around all of the time. He knew she’d have to go back to living with her dad and possibly her mom if she ever got her head out of her ass, but he wasn’t ready for that. He liked what they’d built together. It was the first bit of normalcy he had, had in possibly his whole life. He and Veronica went to school he helped her solve little mysteries, they came home did their homework had dinner and went to bed with maybe some sex if Veronica was up for it. It was a normal and nice routine and he wasn’t ready to let that go.

She shot him a look hearing something in his voice that he wasn’t quick enough to cover up. She straightened up and looked at him sprawled in the desk chair.

“I’m not sure, I think dad wants to wait till after the baby’s born.” She paused looking over at the computer. “I think there’s something going on he doesn’t want to me to know.” She muttered thinking back to how he had avoided the questions about the house and when it was getting repaired.

“What do you think it is?” he asked curiously.

She shrugged turning to plant herself on his lap so they could begin to search his computer. “It has to do with the house and my mom I’m pretty sure, but I’m not sure about anything else.” She said looking at the password info they needed.

“Try ‘Aaron Echolls.’” Logan said sliding his arms around her middle and pulling her closer.

She typed in and it said ‘try again.’

“Um…Breaking Point?” he said resting his chin on her shoulder. Veronica typed and again it was wrong.

“What about—“ he began but instead Veronica typed in her own idea of the code. Sure enough it began to load the screen and allowed them through.

“What did you put?” Logan asked curiously.

“Logan.” She said shooting him a look.

He stared at the back of her head not knowing what to say as she began to scroll through his computer. After a few minutes of silence she let out a huff.

“Everything is password protected.” She moaned running a hand through her hair.

“What? You aren’t a computer genius too?” he mocked. 

She would turn to glare at him if she wasn’t busy trying to break the passwords. They weren’t as easy as ‘Logan.’ After three times the passwords locked and logged her out of the computer against her will. She sighed leaning back against him and pouted.

“We need a computer wiz.” She bemoaned getting off his lap and beginning to walk around the study. She tried to ignore the multiples of Aaron looking down at her.

“Mac’s good with computers maybe I can—“ she began.

“No Veronica. I don’t want anyone else knowing about this.” Logan said sharply.

She sighed and leaned against the desk trying to catch his eye. “I know you don’t, but she’s the only way to get around the passwords. She wouldn’t say anything.” She muttered watching as Logan’s eyes darkened and he shook his head.

“I don’t want to get more people involved. Let’s just pretend that we’re normal for the weekend, ok?” he asked getting up from the chair and walking towards her. He kissed her lightly on the nose and then her lips enjoying the warmth her simple touches invoked through him.

She shook her head once they came up from air. “I can’t. I need to find those tapes and I want to figure out some way to…” she trailed off moving away from him and resuming looking around the office.

“Fine, whatever. I’m going to make dinner.” He said running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Fine.” she said moving some pictures to see if there was a hidden safe. She sighed not finding anything after awhile until she accidentally knocked over a stack of papers and noticed the heading of one of the papers she was picking up. 

“What the hell is Aaron’s Kidz?” she mumbled taking the piece of paper out of the pile and looking at it. Her eyes widened seeing the large sums of money donated to the foundation and she put the paper’s back together and then went to find Logan inquiring about the child’s foundation.

“Logan? What’s Aaron’s Kidz?” she asked holding up the piece of paper for him to look at.

Logan looked up briefly from the spaghetti he was making for dinner and then went back to chopping vegetables for the salad.

“I don’t know. Do you want garlic bread?” he asked shrugging if off.

“Why is your dad giving so much to the organization?” she asked trying to keep him on topic.

Again Logan shrugged, “Maybe he feels guilty.” He said taking some bread out of the freezer and setting up a pan to heat it up.

“I think this is a clue.” She said trying to get his attention.

“Ok. Add it to the folder.” He said distractedly.

Veronica sighed unhappy with how Logan was avoiding anything to do with his dad.

“I’m going to the pool house.” She said putting the piece of paper on the table and making a mental note to copy it in the morning.

“Why? What’s out there?” he asked making her pause in her footsteps. 

“I want to see if there’s anything suspicious.” She said vaguely.

“Whatever just don’t go far. Dinner should be done soon.” He said as she began to walk to the pool house. The truth was she still hadn’t told Logan about finding Lilly’s bracelet there. She wasn’t hiding it from him she just wasn’t sure how to bring it up. She had a sinking suspicious that why ever it was out there was not good. Maybe Lilly had caught on to what Aaron was doing to Logan and that’s why everything led back to her best friend Veronica thought as she opened the door to the poolhouse. 

She went right for the location she was in before Aaron had interrupted her a few weeks ago and pulled she shelves apart. She gasped taking a step back seeing the TV and camera set up there. She turned the TV on and saw the camera pointing at her. 

“What the hell.” She muttered making sure the camera was off before beginning to look around the poolhouse for another clue. It was creepy enough that there was a camera in there, but what else could she find she wondered.

She looked under the bed and in different nooks and crannies of the entire pool house coming up empty handed. Then on a whim she reopened the camera/TV combo and looked behind the TV if there was anything. She sighed in frustration coming up short. She was just about to give up when she noticed the small cupboard drawers under the TV where people would put movies, but since the entire camera was hidden anyway what else could be under there she wondered. She tried to open the doors, but saw they were locked so she began to pick it with her tools until it successfully opened.

She readied herself for finding something that she wouldn’t like and then opened the drawers gasping at the various tapes she found. She took them out one by one seeing initials written on them and little notes with stars as if they were rated. As she took out the last tape she sighed realizing the ones from Lilly’s weren’t in there. She knew they didn’t have any marks on them. She began to put them back into the cupboard when one in the very back corner caught her eye. Thinking this was it she grabbed for it and let out a little air seeing ‘LME’ pun, which she knew to were Logan’s initials. She reminded herself that they could be anyone’s, but she decided to put the tape in the VCR anyway so she could see what was on there. She sat on the bed waiting for the tape to boot up and there on the screen was Aaron yelling at a younger looking Logan. 

“…Such a brat how could you do this to me!” Aaron yelled grabbing Logan by the scruff of his neck and through him to the floor.

She watched transfixed as Logan coward on the floor not knowing what to do. She heard him try to sputter a response, but was cut off by Aaron.

“I told you to stay in your room! And now you could cost me everything! That dinner was important Logan!” Aaron yelled taking off the belt he was wearing an evil glint in his eye.

Veronica knew what was going to come next and she knew she should cover her eyes at the very least or do the right thing and turn off the TV, but instead she watched as Aaron began to beat the younger version of her boyfriend. She watched in horror as Aaron screamed and hurt him over and over and the image burned itself into her brain something she knew she’d never get rid off. Ever. Eventually Aaron stopped and then looked up into the camera and at her watching.

“Shit.” He mumbled seeing that the camera was on no doubt. She watched as he kicked Logan one more time and then the camera went back. She stared at the dark screen feeling frozen and scared at what she just saw.

It was one thing to see the aftermath it was another to see it in action. She felt dizzy for some reason and then she realized she wasn’t breathing properly. She closed her eyes realizing that her face was wet and she was crying. The image was scorched into her brain and she let out a little sob not knowing how to move or erase what she saw. She covered her mouth to muffle the cries and the tears, but they were flowing more freely and she struggled to get up. She didn’t get very far before stumbling to the ground needing some sort of rock to ground her as her mind replayed the images she’d just saw.

“Ronnie! Oh Veronica! Sugarpuss you’re din—Veronica what’s wrong?” Logan asked coming into the poolhouse. He frowned seeing the various tapes littering the floor and then Veronica sitting curled on the ground right between the door and the bed tears rolling down her face and her skin paler than he’d ever seen it.

“Sugarpuss what’s wrong? What happened?” he asked bending down to look at her.

She shook her head and then latched her arms to him bringing him down to her level. He lay on the floor beside her watching the tears flow down her face. He tried to whip them away but she let out a sob and curled herself if possible even closer to him.

“I saw…” she began not able to finish. “You were fourteen.” She mumbled burying her face into his chest.

“Fourteen?” he asked confused.

“There’s a video.” She whispered into his chest.

He frowned trying to understand her garbed words. He tried to sooth her by rubbing her back and smoothing her hair down but she continued to shake and cry garbled words coming out of her mouth. 

Finally Logan got up and went to see what she’d been watching. It took him a full 5 seconds to realize what she’d seen and he quickly shut it off before scooping her into his arms and carrying her to the house and upstairs into his bed. Dinner could wait a little while so he could calm her down. 

“What happened?” she asked laying her head on his chest and enjoying the repetitive motion of him running his hand through her hair.

“I was fourteen he had a dinner party. I was told to stay in my room after dinner so the grownups could talk, but I got thirsty and I went downstairs and accidentally broke a glass trying to get water. Dad flipped out and took me to the poolhouse to talk to me…” Logan trailed off as she tightened her hold on him.

“For a broken glass?” she asked incredulously.

“I said some things after I broke the glass like fuck or something and the people he was trying to impress were really religious I guess.” Logan said quietly.

“Did you know about the camera?” she asked looking up at him.

He shook his head vehemently. “No I had no idea. What else are on the rest of the tapes?” he asked curiously.

She shrugged, “I didn’t watch any of them except for yours. I’m assuming they’re sex tapes.” She said quietly.

“Did you find the one from Lilly’s?” 

“No, but I think they’re probably more of the…” she trailed off now unable to see the word ‘abuse’ now that she’d witnessed it first hand.

“It’s ok Ronnie we can deal with this in the morning. Let’s just eat and then go to bed.” He said soothingly.

“No sex?” she asked pouting.

He smiled, “I’ll always say yes to sex with you.” he said kissing her on the forehead and then the lips. She smiled for the first time all evening as their lips met and gentle kisses were exchanged between them. Veronica jerked away suddenly feeling a sort of butterfly type feeling in her bump. 

Logan looked at her concerned, “Are you ok?” he asked confused as to why she pulled away.

“I think…” she trailed off feeling the odd sensation again. She put her hand to where it was wondering if she could feel it from the outside, but there was no such luck it was still too light to be felt for Logan. 

“What is it?” he asked putting his hand over hers.

“The kid just moved.” She said her tone breathy and unfamiliar.

He’s face light up in a grin and he pressed on her stomach wanting to feel. “What did it feel like?” he asked eagerly wondering if he’d feel anything yet.

“Kind of like butterflies, but harder I guess.” She said taking her hand away and putting it to his face.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to feel it.” She said placing a kiss soft to his lips.

He shrugged his fingers caressing her belly. “Eventually, right?”

“Right.” She said with a nod. Logan grinned and kissed her again before entangling himself from her grasp.

“Where are you going?” she whined.

“To get dinner we can eat in here maybe watch a movie.” He called leaving the room to get dinner.

She waited for him to return trying to concentrate on the simple task of finding a movie instead of the nightmare she’d actually watched earlier. She decided on the   
South Park movie knowing it would cheer her up and she popped it in as Logan carried in two plates of spaghetti and salad with garlic bread. They ate on the floor and laughed along with the movie trying to forget everything else and live in the moment. Once the movie was done Logan put the dirty dishes on his desk and they got ready for bed. 

Once the lights were off and they were curled up against each other Veronica finally felt like she could voice how she felt under the cover of darkness.

“Logan?” she whispered feeling his hands drawing a pattern on her stomach.

“Yeah?” he asked kissing her neck.

“You know I care about you, right?” she said choking slightly on her words.

“Yeah.” He said pulling her closer.

“And I only say things because I care, right?” she said.

“Yeah.”

“And I want you to be safe, right? Because I care.” She said.

He chuckled slightly finding her evasive behavior adorable. He knew what she was getting at, he knew what she was actually saying.

“Yeah. I know.

“I want to tell my dad. I—“ she began.

“I know.”

“What do you think?” 

“You already know what I think, but now that we have proof…” he trailed off.

“Ok. Good.”

He didn’t respond instead turned her slightly so he could kiss her and then leaned down to kiss her baby bump.

“I care about you too.” He added before settling into the pillows again.

“I know.” She said smiling and knowing exactly what he meant too. Neither of them were ready to say how they truly felt and finally uttering the ‘I love yous’ but both of them saw through the other and knew exactly what they meant.


	28. The Name

Chapter 28 The Name

“Mmmm that feels good.” Veronica muttered her voice still sleep filled as she roused herself into the world. She had been having a god dream about Logan worshipping her body and giving her multiple scream worthy orgasms. When suddenly she was distracted from the scandalous dreams by a very real feeling of fingers grazing her body.

She opened her eyes to see Logan staring at her and his hand hover over the soft skin of her breasts.

“Good morning.” He muttered looking at her with such adoration she felt her heart swell.

“Good morning.” She said grinning at him.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked taking a nipple in between his fingers and twisting lightly.

“Wonderful.” She mumbled her mind drifting back to her dreams that were quickly becoming real life. She moved forwards pressing a fervent kiss to his mouth and slipping her tongue between his parted lips. 

He caressed her tongue and dragged her fingers through her hair enjoying the feel of the silky tresses falling through his fingers. When air became an issue they pulled away and Logan gave her a wicked grin before moving down and pressing a kiss to each breast before placing another on her stomach. The smile on her face waivered as she saw his destination and he settled himself between her thighs.

“What are you doing?” she asked touching his shoulder gently to get him to look at her.

He smirked, “I thought it was obvious.” He said caressing the insides of her thighs.

“Logan…you don’t have to do that.” she said anxiously.

The smirk slipped and he furrowed his eyebrows. “I want to.”

“But you don’t have to.” She said shifting beneath him.

“Ok…” he trailed looking into her eyes and trying to figure out why she wasn’t as into this as he was. Suddenly it clicked.

“Has…has no one else ever done this?” he asked feeling a little awkward and a little amazed.

She blushed and looked away, “I mean…like who? Duncan? No.” she stuttered looking at the TV behind him.

“So no one?” he asked incredulously.

She bit her lip and then shook her head. 

He grinned unexpectedly and then dipped his head back between the heat between her thighs. She opened her mouth to protest, but at that moment his tongue began to work it’s magic. Instead of protesting she let out a loud moan that turned louder as Logan’s tongue began swirl on her clit. 

Her thighs shook around his head as he inserted one finger and curled it slightly as he continued to suck and nip on her clit. She felt the beginnings of the now familiar pressure begin to form and without realizing what she was doing she brought a hand to the top of his head keeping him exactly where he was licking and biting and changing the pressure to make her scream.

His hand tightened in her hips to keep her on the mattress and get her to stop moving. Her breathing became erratic as the tightening in her lower half began and the drop off the cliff started as Logan finally sent her over the edge. Her muscles clenched around his fingers and he felt her quiver beneath him. He let her ride out the remains of her orgasm before pulling away and licking his fingers before giving her a smoldering kiss on the mouth. 

“So how was your first time?” he asked eagerly rolling off of her carefully before propping himself up with an elbow. 

She blushed despite herself and tried to act nonchalant. “It was ok.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, “Just ok?”

“We can always try again later.” She said wiggling her eyebrows at him.

Logan laughed and pulled her to him kissing her as if his life depended on it. She moved away from him abruptly and moved down straddling him her entrance aligning up with his cock.

“Veronica.” He said watching her with dark eyes.

“Logan.” She said knowing her own eyes were just as lust filled. She gently slide down on to him slowly taking him in a little at a time. He let out a hiss as he was engulfed by her warmth. She began to rock slowly at first and then sped up watching his mouth drop open slightly and let out a low noise. She smirked her hand digging into his sides as she tried to keep steady. With her getting rapidly bigger they had to get creative with their positions and without warning Logan slide her off of him and instructed her to get on her hands and knees.

“Logan—“ she began.

“Just get down on your hands and knees, yeah just like that.” he said going behind her and gently prodding her legs open a little more with his fingers. When she was just right he slide inside her and she let out a shaky breathe at the new angle.

He placed a hand on her hip and then the other moved between her legs to touch her clit as he began a steady rhythm of thrusting behind her. She arched her back as his hand played with her sensitive area as he moved in an out of her. She could hear herself making noises, but she couldn’t stop herself as his rhythm picked up and the only sounds in the room was the slapping of their bodies and her moans.

Her inner muscles began to clench around him and he let out a grunt knowing that they were both close. He changed the pressure on her clit suddenly just as he thrust into her as he deep as he could and then she was falling over the edge with him as his seed emptied inside her and her own orgasm hit her full force. They collapsed onto the bed each panting Veronica curling up beside him and pressing a chaste kiss to his chest. They lay like that for a few minutes before she carefully got out of bed a sheet wrapped around her.

“Where are you going?” he whined watching as she walked towards the bathroom.

“I have things I have to do before tonight.” She called back closing the door to take a quick shower. As she showered she went through the events of the night before and how she needed to talk to her dad right away. She also wanted to look into this ‘Aaron Kidz’ thing and copy that sheet of paper she found. She also knew she had to fix the pool house and make it look like it had before. This wasn’t even counting what was going to go on tonight.

She got out of the shower and went back into Logan’s bedroom a towel wrapped tight around her. Logan looked up as he pawed through one of the pregnancy books.

“So I was wondering if you gave any thought to names?” he asked curiously setting the book on top of his little pile. 

She shrugged drying off her hair and opening the door to go to her room to get clothes. Logan followed and settled onto her bed as she went through the small amount of clothes she owned.

“Not really, I mean I know what I don’t want to name the kid. Richard, Aaron, Ernest you know.” She said absentmindedly looking for an outfit she’d feel comfortable in that day. She pulled out yoga pants and a t-shirt. The t-shirt was tight over her bump and she sighed annoyed that she was starting to look so pregnant. Twenty week after all.

“Well I was looking into some names and I think I found a good one.” He said the tone in his voice making her turn to him curiously. He was looking at the bedspread playing with an invisible piece of string on the bedspread. She smiled slightly at his bashfulness and figured this should be good.

“So I thinking his last name could be Echolls, you know, but the first name could be Marsden for Mars, get it?” he mumbled staring down at the bedspread.

“Marsden.” She said trying the name out. She smiled and walked to him putting a hand on his chin to get him to look up at her.

“I like Marsden. It eliminates the last name discussion.” she said happy to see the smile form on his face.

“And Keith for his middle name?” he said putting his hands on her hips.

“Marsden Keith Echolls sounds kinda…perfect.” She said running a hand through his hair as he leaned down to kiss her bump. She grinned leaning down to get a kiss of her own.

“You know it occurs to me that I need to return the delicious favor you gave me this morning.” She said nipping his bottom lip gently.

He chuckled, “I didn’t do that so you had to repay me. I did that because I wanted to. You don’t owe me anything.” He said running his hands up and down her arms.

She frowned and leaned closer. “But—“ she began, but was cut off by her cell phone ringing. She looked at the ID for a moment and smiled seeing it was her dad. 

Perfect.

“Hey daddy.” She said.

“Hi honey.” 

“How are you?”

“Fine, fine. Listen I know Logan’s parents are out of town this weekend and I was planning to come to dinner tomorrow night, but something came up. I have to go to Vegas.” He said.

She frowned her mind on the video from last night and how she wanted to talk to him about it. She was ready to reveal the truth and he was going out of town. What the hell.

“Do you have to? Can’t you postpone it?” she asked frustrated.

“I’m sorry honey, but I can’t it’s…it’s a long story, but I’ll tell you when I get back, promise. I’ll be gone another week or so, but remember if you have any problems you can—“

“Call you I know.” She said sadly.

“I’m sorry honey, when I get back we can have a nice long dinner just the two of us.” He said knowing that she was sad.

“Yeah ok.” She said biting her lip.

“How’s mom?” she asked finally.

“Your mother…” Keith cleared his throat. “She’s fine. You could call her if—“ 

“No. It’s fine. Ok well call me when you get there and please check in. I’ll see you for dinner soon.” She said looking over at Logan who was trying hard not to listen.

“Next Friday, honey we’ll have dinner next Friday.” He said.

“Alright.” She said before saying her ‘I love yous’ and ‘goodbye’ then hanging up. She moved to sit on the bed and Logan wrapped an arm around her bringing her to his side.

“So how about we continue playing detective before laying out by the pool before our friends arrive.” He said trying to cheer her up.

She nodded sadly and he helped her stand before they went downstairs. Logan left her briefly to go shower after making breakfast for her and in that time she copied the ‘Aaron Kidz’ sheet of paper and began to make notes in her Lilly Kane investigation. She went back through the study and the pool house to make sure everything was in order and then she texted Mac to see if she’d be willing to come over a bit early. 

Despite Logan not wanting Mac to snoop through his dad’s computer Veronica wanted to now more than ever. Even though they had proof of the abuse she was curious if Aaron was doing more than just abusing his son and having sex with woman and videotaping it. She wanted to know what the children’s foundation was and why Aaron was giving so much to it. She figured the best answers were in the computer and she needed Mac. 

She figured the best thing to do was build a steady case against Aaron so he could suffer like Logan’s suffered at his hand. She wanted to make sure that when she caught him it would solidify jail time away from them forever. Or so she hoped. She wasn’t optimistic enough to think they could escape Aaron, but she was hoping she could send him away with the gathering of information she had. She wanted to undercover all of his skeletons so they had leverage. After seeing that video last night she was even more prepared and determined to take Aaron down. He was a monster and Logan deserved to be free of him.

The two spent a majority of the day by the pool discussing little things ranging from school, to her cases, to what color and how to decorate the nursery. She was a bit hesitant still to pick a room and name it the nursery since she wasn’t sure what her dad was planning with the house and where she was going to live. But for the time being she figured they might as well get started since their time was dwindling.

“Do you think we should make a list?” she asked as she wadded in the deep end of the water.

“For what?” he asked floating by her.

“Just of things we need to do. Get the nursery together, take down Aaron, name child, finish reading books, maybe get some first year books, finish cases you know stuff like that.” she said watching as he dipped under water before coming back up. 

“Most of that stuff is done. Name child, check. Finish books, check—“

“Wait you finished the books?” she asked incredulously.

“Almost I’m about to enter the third trimester.” He said smirking as her mouth dropped open.

“What an overachiever.” She mumbled dunking her own head under the pool before coming back to the surface.

“What else should we do?” he asked taking her hand and dragging her forward to him.

“Well your mom wanted to do the baby shower, but I don’t really know when.” Veronica mused. “Or who she’d invite.” She added thinking of the very few friends and family she had.

Logan shrugged and kissed her on the top of her head. “Who knows, but lets get out and go get ready for this party. We should shower again.” He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She grinned and went to go get out of the pool. Logan watched her enjoying the view before hurrying to follow her. They wrapped themselves in towels and then went inside to get ready.

An hour later Logan was still getting ready and Veronica was making sure there was enough alcohol and refreshments set up. The doorbell rang and she hurried to answer it not surprised in the least to see Mac.

“Hey.” Mac said stepping into the house and taking in the large mansion.

“This is huge.” She added her mouth open slightly.

“It’s nice.” Veronica said absently leading Mac through the house and to the study. She listened making sure Logan was still in the shower. She had declined a dual shower knowing that Mac was showing up early. She figured she could make it up to him all day tomorrow when it was their last day together in the house alone. 

When she was sure Logan was still showering she led Mac into the study and filled her in briefly on what she needed to know. Mac hacked into the computer and began to go through the files. She found something labeled ‘Aaron’s kidz’ and she printed it wondering why Veronica was having her do this. Veronica listened carefully for Logan and when the water turned off she gestured for Mac to close everything down once the papers printed and they put everything back how it was and Veronica shoved the papers into her messenger bag before taking it upstairs to look at later. 

Mac helped herself to a coke looking around at the various items in the home. 

“You can spike that you know.” Veronica said coming back into the room.

Mac looked down at her coke and shrugged, “I could, but…” she trailed off shyly and Veronica prompted her forward.

“It’s just…well I’m never been drunk.” Mac said finally. 

Veronica smiled at her and shrugged. “It’s not that great honestly.” She said.

“So what are you going to do when we all drink?” Mac asked eyeing her stomach.

Veronica sighed dramatically. “Watch you guys of course. I wasn’t much of a drinker before so this doesn’t change much.” She said gesturing to her stomach.

Mac nodded and opened her mouth to respond when Logan came in. “Mac.” He said helping himself to the bottle of Vodka and some juice.

“You’re early.” He said looking between Veronica and her. Veronica gave him an innocent smile and was about to respond when the doorbell rang and she went to go answer it. Georgia and Wallace greeted her holding up a bag of chips and guac.

“Nice.” Veronica exclaimed leading them inside.

The five of them engaged in small talk as they waited for the Casablancas’ and Duncan and Meg. Eventually at half past nine the two groups showed up. Dick carrying a large bottle of Vodka and Cassidy looking not that eager to be there. Duncan and Meg brought some chasers and Meg had made brownies. The nine teenagers sat out by the pool eating the food and drinking, minus Veronica who stuck with water most of the night, but she did hog the brownies. 

As the night progressed Veronica looked around at her friends glad that everyone was getting along. Granted everyone was drunker than she’d seen them in awhile, her boyfriend included, but it was harmless and everyone was being funny. She stood by the sink in the kitchen getting more water and watching them outside. She felt a momentary sadness overcome her thinking of how Lilly deserved to be there with them. She would always miss Lilly and she wished things could be different. 

“Hey I just want to thank you so much for inviting us.” Meg said coming into the kitchen to see Veronica staring off into space lost in her memories.

“No problem.” Veronica said smiling at Meg.

“I know it’s a bit weird with me dating Duncan, but…I’m just glad that you invited us. I know he’s been a bit down since…everything, but I know he’s happier now that he talked to you and Logan and apologized.” She said smiling at Veronica.

Veronica waved her off, “it’s been a transition.” She said easily not wanting to talk about how crazy Duncan had gotten.

“Well just thanks.” She said.

Veronica nodded waiting for Meg to say or do something else. She looked like she wanted to ask a question. Finally Meg shook her head and gave her another Disney smile before gesturing back outside. Veronica nodded following behind and coming outside just as Dick stood up to announce that they should play a game.

“Let’s play I never!” Dick slurred cheersing the air.

Veronica frowned slightly her eyes connecting with Logan’s and then Duncan’s.

“Alright.” Mac said who wasn’t as drunk, but slowly getting there. The nine of them sat at the patio table all looking wary as they filled their glasses, Veronica the only one with water.

“Who’ll start?” Wallace asked curiously.

“You.” Veronica said smiling at him.

He groaned and thought for a moment, “Ok Never have I ever had sex with a guy.” He said smiling.

Veronica, Georgia, and Meg drank from their cups making everyone howl in amusement.

“Woaw Mac are you a virgin?” Dick asked amazed.

Veronica threw him an annoyed look as Logan wrapped an arm around her shoulders knowing that she wanted to stand up for her friend.

Mac looked away blushing and then cleared her throat since she was sitting beside Wallace.

“Ok Never have I ever gotten arrested.” Mac said making everyone boo as Logan, Wallace, and Dick drank.

“Dude what’d you get arrested for?” Dick asked staring at Wallace as if he was a Saint.

“Fighting.” Wallace said smirking as Veronica rolled her eyes knowing he was acting tough for Dick and Logan’s benefit.

“Beaver!” Dick said nudging his brother. 

Cassidy rolled his eyes. “Ok never have I ever failed a test.” He said.

Dick booed as everyone except Cassidy, Veronica, Mac, Meg, Duncan, and Wallace drank.

“Alright my turn!” Dick said happily. “Never have I ever made out with Logan.” Dick said wiggling his eyebrows at Veronica

Veronica rolled her eyes and drank blushing as everyone looked at her. “Low blow, Dick!” She bemoaned looking around the table. 

Everyone laughed at her embarrassed look and Logan nudged her. 

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about sugarpuss.” He said kissing her on the forehead. She blushed anyway and looked down. The game continued until everyone was good and drunk. Each couple went off to do their own thing leaving Cassidy, Dick and Mac still playing the game. Cassidy however was so drunk he was passed out on the glass table as Dick entertained Mac with story after story. She retaliated by telling him her own stories and she realized he wasn’t as bad as she thought. Sure he   
was tactless and pervy, but he was also funny and entertaining. He was so much different than his brother it was amazing.

“Why do you call Cassidy ‘Beaver?’” she asked as he finished the story.

Dick shrugged looking down at his younger brother who was snoring between them.

“I don’t really remember. The name kind of just stuck I guess.” He said with a shrug.

Mac smiled looking down at him. “So tell me about you, what’s something no one knows?” she asked curiously.

He looked towards the house where he could see Meg and Duncan cuddling on the couch.

“I’ve never been in love.” Dick said with a shrug looking over at Mac.

She smiled sadly, “Me neither.” She said looking down at Cassidy drooling on the table.

They looked at each other for a minute before Dick looked away. “So uh—“ he began, but suddenly Cassidy jerked up right and began to get sick luckily grabbing the empty chip bowl so he would reduce the mess. Dick and Mac shared a look before they both began to help Cassidy out. The moment they had was gone. Mac couldn’t help feeling disappointed and then she chastised herself reminding herself that Cassidy was who she had the most in common with and liked, not his older goofier hot brother. She kept telling herself that as Dick and her helped Cassidy the rest of the night.


	29. The Fight

Chapter 29 The Fight

It had been almost two weeks since the Echolls had left for the weekend and they had, had the party. Keith had been so busy at work that he’d barely had time to have dinner or even talk with Veronica about the thing she wanted to talk about most. He kept telling her something big was coming and he was on the verge of a break through. It bothered her that her dad was being so cryptic and she couldn’t talk to him about the proof she’d found, but she also knew that he was close to something big himself and he didn’t have time for her news yet. Aaron had backed off too for the most part he was barely around and only there maybe a few times a week when he wasn’t getting ready for his movie roll. Veronica was still curious about the children’s foundation, but she wanted to talk to her dad first to figure everything out, if she ever saw him, which at this point didn’t seem likely.

Veronica was making snickerdoodles in the kitchen when she heard the back door close behind her. She chanced a glance over at the door and stopped what she was doing to take in the biker awkwardly standing in the doorway.

“I’m here to pick up my grandma.” Weevil said uncomfortably. 

“Oh! Sure.” Veronica said still shocked at seeing the leader of the biker gang in the Echolls’ kitchen. She knew that the door he took was for the servants use only, but it was still weird to see him at it waiting for his grandma. She put the snickerdoodle in her hand down and moved out of the kitchen and towards where Mrs. Navarro was doing laundry. She quietly told the housekeeper her grandson was here and Mrs. Navarro quickly followed Veronica back to the kitchen.

“Eli! I told you thirty more minutes I have to finish doing the laundry.” Mrs. Navarro said frowning at her grandson.

Weevil sent an anxious look to Veronica who had frozen where she stood when she heard his name. Eli. E. Weevil had sent that note. Weevil must’ve been Lilly’s secret. 

Weevil said something in Spanish and then Letty rolled her eyes and left.

Veronica waited until Letty went back to the laundry room before turning to Weevil with a guarded expression.

“Do you want a cookie?” she asked knowing she’d probably have to butter him up before asking her string of questions.

Weevil looked at her hesitantly and then shrugged, “what kind?”

“Snickerdoodle.” She said holding up one she was making in her hand.

He shrugged and got up to come closer. “I didn’t realize anyone cooked in this house besides my grandmother.” He said taking in the cookies she was making.

“Just Logan and I.” Veronica said watching him carefully.

Weevil snorted and moved away. “That rich boy can cook? I’d pay to see that.” he said looking around the kitchen and then finally his eyes settling on her stomach.

“I heard you know. I just thought they were rumors.” Weevil said staring at her bump.

She looked down at it and then back at him with a smirk. “Rumors you say? I didn’t know there were rumors about me. How flattering.” She said putting the last cookie on the sheet before putting them in the oven and washing her hands.

“So you and Logan, huh?” Weevil said watching as she grabbed some of the finished ones and put them on the small table in the kitchen. Weevil looked at them before taking one and sitting down across from Veronica.

“You and Lilly, huh?” she retorted her watchful eyes back on him.

Weevil gawked at her before lowering the cookie away from his mouth.

“You know, didn’t we have this conversation already?” he mocked going back to her speculations months ago when he’d gotten arrested at the Kane estate.

“Perhaps, but this time I found proof. A pink spy pen with a note from E in it. Sound familiar?” she asked narrowing her eyes at him and taking a bite of her cookie.

Weevil smirked slightly and dropped his head before looking up again. “Maybe. What do you want to know?” he asked.

“What was going on between you and Lilly?” she asked eager to find out and yet trying to act nonchalant about it.

Weevil sighed and looked out the window and into the distance. “I loved Lilly. I really did, but I know…I loved her like I’ve never loved anyone and…It’s been hard you know.” He said struggling to talk about the girl he’d loved and that had been alive only six months earlier.

“Lilly was always fighting with Logan and I don’t know we got to talking and she was so cool. She kept telling me she’d leave him, but…obviously not and now she’s dead.” Weevil said quietly finally taking a bite of the cookie to wash his sorrow down.

Veronica frowned feeling sorry for the biker, but not knowing how to comfort him.

“I’m sorry.” She said finally making him look up. 

Weevil shrugged feeling self-conscious. “I know we’d probably never work out, but I really did love her. I would never have hurt her.” He said.

“Where were you when she died?” Veronica asked curiously.

“Community Service.” He mumbled taking another bite of the cookie.

Veronica nodded making a mental note to check into it. Although she wasn’t sure how since her dad had taken the evidence that he’d found and put it back where it belonged along with a very large lock with a combination and key. Her father knew her too well.

“Did Lilly love you?” Veronica asked quietly knowing that the question was more for Logan’s benefit than her own.

Weevil shrugged, “who knows. I’d like to think so, but Lilly loved playing games. Sometimes I think that’s the only reason she was interested in me.” 

She nodded wondering how the friend she’d loved with all her heart could hurt so many people. She was lost in thought until Weevil brought her back to reality.

“So are you really going to do this parenting thing with Logan?” Weevil asked watching as she took another cookie.

She nodded a slight smile on her face as she thought of him. “Yeah.” 

Weevil eyed her, “I’d watch out for him. Lilly’s told me some real…odd things.” He said carefully.

Veronica frowned, “Like what?”

Weevil shrugged and looked away. “Just temper, anger, jealousy stuff. He’s protective and can get hostile I guess.”

“Hostile?” she repeated rolling her eyes. She’d known Logan long enough to know he did have jealousy and anger issues, but so did she and she’d also known Lilly long enough to know she tended to exaggerate.

“Yeah you know. He gets real angry a lot.” Weevil said.

Veronica sighed and put her cookie down, “He’s a good guy, Weevil and I…I care about him a lot. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.” She said calmly.

Weevil shrugged, “I’m just warning you, V.” he said.

Veronica nodded, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Weevil smirked and took another cookie as they heard footsteps approaching. Mrs. Navarro shuffled back into the kitchen and smiled at the two of them before motioning to Weevil.

“We can go now.” She said before taking a cookie off the plate and smiling at Veronica.

“Miss Mars make sure to eat vegetables with dinner tonight. I reminded Mr. Logan earlier before he left for surfing with the dumb one.” Letty said before gesturing for Weevil to leave. 

Veronica waved at them as they left as she ate another cookie before taking the next batch out. Her mind was reeling from her and Weevil’s conversation. After the cookies were finished and she’d cleaned and wrapped them up she hurried upstairs to work on the Lilly investigation.

She’d been doing little investigations for classmates here and there, but still her main focus was Lilly like it always was. She figured once she found out who the real killer was she could concentrate more on the little investigations. She was a bit surprised to find out that she was good at it and liked it.

She began to add in the little amount of information she’d gathered when she felt a sudden movement inside her. She smiled slightly and put a hand to her stomach enjoying the feel of the baby. Well enjoying wasn’t exactly the right term, more like weird craziness going on inside her. She was still amazed she was going to do this. It was crazy to think about and extremely scary, but she had Logan and her dad for support. 

As she stared at the picture of Lilly and her on Homecoming she got an idea. She left the computer open and went to get her camera. She went into the bathroom and took a picture in the mirror of her pregnant self to document the pregnancy.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.” She mumbled taking pictures from different angles. It was like the baby’s first year booklet her dad had gotten her and yes it was destroyed in the fire, but she figured that maybe she could combine her pregnancy with the baby’s first year stuff. She was going to make a scrapbook of pictures from her pregnancy and to the baby’s first year since she lost the booklet. She smiled happily at her idea until suddenly she really had to use the bathroom, which was nothing knew since she spent eighty percent of her life now in the bathroom since she always had to pee. 

She left the bathroom with her camera in hand when suddenly she stopped in her tracks and gapped at Logan sitting on the bed with a towel around his waste and staring at her computer screen. She rushed forward and closed it as quickly as possible before looking up at him with nervous eyes.

“I thought you were surfing with Dick and Beaver.” She said looking at him anxiously. He was still looking at her hand on the computer and she knew that he was trying to get his anger in check. His jaw was clenching and unclenching and she knew this was a bad sign.

“We just got back. I came to see you and I found that…what was that Veronica? Was that…an investigation for Lilly? Why are you investigating…” he trailed off as he got up the bed and began to pace the room looking for some outlet of his anger.

“Please explain.” He said finally turning to her and waiting for a reply.

She looked away and shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “I don’t believe Koontz killed Lilly.” She admitted.

Logan let out a mirthless laugh and ran a hand through his hair. “He confessed Veronica! Your dad caught him! He’s in jail. What more proof do you need?” he asked staring at her incredulously.

“It’s not Koontz, Logan! I know it! My dad knows it. Listen, Koontz was paid off he’s sick and dying and—“

“Who would pay him off? Why would they pay him off?” Logan asked angrily and then pointed to her computer.

“Do you think that one of us did it? The people who loved Lilly the most could murder her?” He asked furiously.

She bit her lip and looked away from him. “I believe that Koontz didn’t kill Lilly and my dad—“ she began.

“Do you listen to yourself? We all loved Lilly! This is just like after her funeral all over again when your dad took in Jake! None of us killed Lilly we loved her! You have files on everyone myself included. Do you really think I could have murdered her?” He asked shaking with anger.

She bit her lip wondering what to say to make him understand why she still had an investigation going on. “I don’t believe that Koontz killed Lilly, Logan. I think he was paid off…” she trailed off watching as he stared at her.

“Paid off by whom? The Kanes?” Logan mocked.

When she didn’t reply his eyes widened and he let out another dark laugh. “How could you think this? Do you think so little of Duncan and his family that they could be killers? Do you really think the people who loved Lilly could do this? And what about me? And I capable of murder?” he asked angrily running a hand through his hair.

She looked away trying to gather her thoughts. “I don’t want to believe any of it, but I’ve been gathering information—“

“About your friends! About her parents! And what’s with the information anyway, huh? Duncan has some sort of epilepsy! His parents were doing laundry the night of his murder! Lilly was fucking everyone so that gives me a motive to off her! And what about me, huh? Has this just been some ploy to get closer to me so you can see if I’m the real murderer? Is any of this even real!” he shouted so filled with rage that he grabbed the lamp off her beside table and threw it against the wall.

The room was deafeningly silent as the lamp shattered and Veronica jumped involuntarily at the noise.

“Logan…” she trailed off knowing if she told him to ‘calm down’ it would backfire. She watched as he continuously ran his hands across his head and into his hair and he sank to the bed looking at the wall where he had smashed the lamp.

“I can’t do this.” He mumbled finally.

She stared at him not knowing what to say or whether she should go over to him. “I’m doing the investigation because I need to know the truth. I loved Lilly too you know and as much as I don’t think any of us killed her I know it’s not Koontz. I don’t think you’re a murderer Logan and this isn’t a ploy I really l—care strongly for you.” she said sitting onto the bed beside him. She stared down at the broken pieces of the lamp and waited for him to say something.

“I’m going to be like my dad aren’t I?” he whispered finally looking over at her.

She shook her head vehemently and put a hand to his cheek as their eyes met.

“You’ll never be your father, Logan.” She sighed and let her hand drop instead curling it around the one closest to her.

“I know it’s upsetting, but there’s a lot of evidence that leads back to the Kane’s hiding something. We think that the Kane’s paid off Koontz and my dad is going to find some evidence to prove this.” She said stroking his skin softly.

“So if Koontz didn’t do it, who did?” he asked staring down at their hands.

“That’s what I want to find out.” She said sadly.

Logan nodded and looked down at the lamp pieces. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged and pulled away. “Do you still love her?” she whispered staring down at her lap.

His head shot up to hers and she looked into his eyes only seeing love shining back at her. She knew right as the question left her mouth that it was a stupid one. The look on his face said it all. 

“No. I think I did, but…So Lilly and Weevil, huh?” he said looking down at her computer.

She nodded slowly. 

They sat in silence for awhile neither knowing what to say until finally Logan stood up careful not to walk on the shards of lamp. He looked down at her with a gentle smile and took her hand leading her carefully around the broken pieces.

Neither of them said a word as they crossed the hall and went into his room both undressing and curling up beside each other. It was only nine, but both of them were exhausted. Logan stroked her stomach as they watched each other both feeling tired, but unable to sleep just yet.

“I’m sorry I lost my temper.” He whispered reaching his other hand to run it along her face.

She smiled wearily and sighed. “You aren’t your father, Logan and you won’t be. We can do this all of this, I swear.” She said leaning forward and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

He nodded biting his lip and looking into her eyes. The same loving expression from earlier on his face. “You know I don’t love her anymore. I just want you to know that. I love…I love…” he trailed off looking away bashfully.

She smiled watching him struggle and she leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. 

“I know.” She whispered before curling even closer to him and closing her eyes and waiting for his breathing to even out before joining him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica wasn’t having a good day. She’d forgotten to do her laundry and was wearing one of Logan’s shirts and leggings since nothing was fitting her and yet again she’d have to go shopping. She’d woken up late for her doctor’s appointment and thus had forgotten her homework at the Echolls. Logan was unable to make her appointment with her either since he had a big test at the same time so she had to sit in that waiting room by herself and meet with the doctor alone. 

The appointment was long and boring with lots of questions and checking everything over. The doctor told her what she’d be looking forward to in the next few weeks and then she made another appointment for another month before rushing back to the mansion to grab her homework.

She unlocked the gate and then parked next to Lynn’s red convertible before hurrying inside determined to get in and out without staying long. When she stepped into the house though she knew something was wrong. It was too silent and whenever that happened in the Echolls’ mansion it was never good. She stood in the entrance of the house listening for anything when suddenly she heard laughter. Very familiar laughter.

“Come here lover.” A familiar voice said and Veronica felt her stomach drop at the sound. Lilly. That was Lilly’s voice.   
She quietly walked further into the house as if in a trance being pulled closer by Lilly’s voice. Her voice was coming from the living room. As she entered she gasped at the sight at what she found. Lynn was passed out on the floor of the living room blood on her clothes and on her head. Veronica rushed forward quickly calling Logan and checking where the source of the blood was from to staunch it.

Then she froze again hearing Lilly’s laughter and she turned to look at the TV, which she had forgotten about since she’d run to help Lynn. She looked at the TV her mouth dropping open in shock as she saw Lilly on the screen. She immediately recognized the poolhouse in the background and knew the video had been taken there. She watched with sinking dread as Lilly began to have sex with her boyfriend’s father, Aaron. Aaron and Lilly were having sex on the screen. Everything suddenly clicked into place as if being knocked on the head with the puzzle pieces. Why Aaron was so weird that day in the poolhouse. The bracelet. The secret. The tapes. Why Aaron took them. The puzzle was complete. Veronica knew what happened.

“Holy shit.” Veronica muttered staring at the large plasma screen featuring her dead best friend and the famous movie star Aaron Echolls.

“Veronica? Are you there? This better be good I’m—Veronica? Are you there?” Logan asked over the phone concerned that Veronica wasn’t saying anything.

Veronica shook her head and ripped her eyes from the screen turning back to Lynn and the blood and trying to get a grasp on reality.

“Logan you need to come ho—“ but that was as far as she got when suddenly someone hit her from behind and her world went black.


	30. The Rescue

Chapter 30 The Rescue

The first thing Veronica noticed when she became conscious was that she was extremely uncomfortable and really had to pee. The second thing she took note of were that her hands were tied behind her back and she was tied to the coffee table of all things. She would’ve rolled her eyes at the stupidity of it all, but she was too afraid about the situation and whether she and the little vegetarian would come out alive.

“You’re awake.” A voice said making her snap her head in his direction. She wasn’t surprised in the least to see Aaron standing in front of her with the tapes in one hand and a knife in the other.

She looked around instead of answering him taking in the blood stained carpet that was where Lynn had been. 

Now she was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Lynn?” Veronica asked quietly.

“Somewhere, where she belongs.” He said cryptically before crouching down beside her and giving her an award winning Aaron Echolls smile.

“I’m surprised actually.” He said staring at her. 

She wiggled uncomfortably around trying to get away from Aaron’s leer and trying not to pee on herself.

“Surprised about what?” she asked testing her binds to see how tight he’d made them. They were tight, but nothing she decided she couldn’t handle.

“I thought you’d figure it out, but instead Lynn did.” Aaron said watching as she wiggled around.

“You won’t be getting out any time soon, Veronica.” He said with a smirk.

She glared at him. “I have to use the restroom.” 

He chuckled and stood up, “You have two options you can a) go to the restroom, but I have to watch you to make sure you don’t escape or b) you can deal with it because you’ll probably be dead soon.” He said watching as her eyes widened and suddenly she went still.

“I’ll deal with it.” She mumbled looking away and trying to concentrate on anything but the urge to pee.

“Are you really going to kill me?” she asked a beat later wondering how he could kill his own grandchild living inside of her. But then again she was talking to the man who beat his own child so who was she kidding he’d kill them in a heartbeat.

“I haven’t decided.” He mused eyeing her.

She stared up at him wondering if that should make her feel better or worse. She opted for worse since not knowing made him unpredictable.

“How did Lynn figure it out?” she asked drawing his attention back to the matter at hand. She figured she could buy some time if she kept him talking.

Aaron gave her a malicious smile and sat down on the couch his socked feet in the stain of blood on the carpet. She tried not to think about the blood there and how carelessly he stood upon it as if he didn’t care that it was his wife’s. 

“She was snooping. Thought I was having another affair. I guess I didn’t hide the tapes as well as I thought because when I came home from working out she was there on the couch watching them. All of them. Then she accused me of killing Logan’s pathetic slut of a girlfriend…” Aaron said with disgust.

“Did you? Did you kill Lilly?” Veronica asked already knowing the truth.

Aaron gave her a wicked smile, “She was trouble. I was saving myself and later on down the line Logan. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do, but it was the best thing.” He said with a careless shrug.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out except a choked sound. 

“So now I have to decide what to do with you.” he mused standing up and beginning to walk around the couch.

“You’ll never get away with it.” She said biting her lip to keep the sigh of relief from pouring out when she felt her hand finally slide through the bindings.

“I already have. Everyone thinks the Kane’s are hiding something. No one even suspects me. That’s the beauty of being famous, Veronica. Everyone adores you.” he said grinning down at her. He began to play with the knife absentmindedly eyeing her with interest.

“So should I kill you or the fetus first?” he wondered looking between her stomach and her face.

“I’m going to opt for neither.” She said wiggling her other hand out of her bindings. She subtly looked around wondering what she could use as a weapon to distract him. There was nothing on the floor anywhere near her, but on the couch there were some pillows. Not the greatest weapon of choice, but maybe if she threw the pillows at him to distract him she could find something else. Hey she was desperate here. 

“Poor little Veronica what big plans I have for you.” he said coming closer.

“How could you kill your own grandchild?” she spat out needing more time to formulate a plan. The one she had wasn’t the best. 

Pillows, really.

Aaron raised his hands carelessly. “Who knows how anyone could do any of the things people do. People kill people every day. People lie and cheat and steal. Killing one more child isn’t going to do anything. Logan won’t care anyway he’s young and doesn’t want a child. I’m doing him a favor.”

“Like you did when you killed Lilly?” Veronica staled seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. She thanked God for the first time in her life. Someone was here to save her. 

Aaron grinned, “something like that.”

“What about Lynn? Did you kill her too?” Veronica demanded to know trying to keep him busy so he wouldn’t see who was sneaking up behind him.

“Like I said she’s where she belongs.” Aaron said before raising the knife, but before he could plunge it down Logan rushed at him from behind and they fell over together onto the carpet struggling with the knife. Aaron socked Logan hard in the jaw giving Aaron the chance to lunge for the knife, but he wasn’t quick enough. 

Veronica kicked it away as quickly as possible and watched as it went under the couch. 

“You bitch!” Aaron yelled before smacking her across the face and then getting up and getting ready to kick her, but Logan let out a warrior cry before diving for his dad and knocking them back down to the floor. They scrambled around each trying to get the upper hand as Veronica frantically searched for something to knock out   
Aaron with. She hurried over to a vase on the fireplace counter and then went back over to the brawl. As hard as she could she brought the vase down on Aaron’s head and he went limp on top of Logan. Logan shimmied out from under him and he hugged Veronica as tight as possible and kissed her all over. He took an extra moment to get on his knees to kiss her stomach and then he hugged her tight against him.

“Are you ok?” he asked checking her over for injuries and placing another few kisses on her.

She nodded still shocked by the events that just happened. “I need to call my dad.” She mumbled putting a hand to his face seeing the large bruise that was blossoming there.

“He’s on his way.” Logan said looking down at the crumpled body of his dad.

“What happened?” he asked seeing the tapes on the floor that they’d spent so much time looking for.

Before Veronica could stop him he picked one of them up and popped it into the VCR.

“Wait! Logan! No!” she cried rushing forward to stop it, but she wasn’t quick enough because the image of his dad balls deep in Lilly Kane popped onto the screen and Logan stumbled backwards at the sight. Veronica turned it off as quickly as it went on and she turned to Logan who was staring down at his dad with an unreadable expression. 

“He? And…and Her?” he whispered looking at his dad for any sign of movement.

“Yeah…” Veronica said not in the least bit surprised when Logan rushed forward and began to scream and kick his dad’s already limp body over and over. He punched and kicked him for every moment of abuse he was dealt and for everything he’d ever done to him including having sex with Lilly and almost killing his girlfriend and child. When Veronica couldn’t take it anymore she took his arm and led him away from the bloodied body of Aaron Echolls.

“Logan, Logan, calm down.” She said trying to get him to look at her, but he kept trying to get away from her to get back to pummeling his father who’d tormented him for years. His breathing was ragged in her ear as she hugged him not willing to let go so he’d go back to beating on his dad.

“Logan where’s your mom?” she asked trying to get his attention away from Aaron and to his other parent. 

He continued to fight her grasp wanting to destroy his father, but they were interrupted as Keith, Lamb, Sacks, and Leo came rushing in guns blazing.

“What happened?” Keith asked rushing forward to his daughter and Logan who both had bruises on their faces. 

“It’s a long story.” Veronica said quietly before handing the tapes over to her dad and keeping one hand around Logan. 

“But first we have to find, Lynn.” She added looking over at Logan who was watching his father being handcuffed. When she was sure Logan was being watched by her father she rushed off to the bathroom to relieve herself. She felt slightly guilty at how happy she felt at being able to use the bathroom in a situation like this, but she couldn’t help herself. She was pregnant. She had to pee. End of story.

Once Veronica was out of the bathroom Keith lead the teens to his police cruiser as he radioed for an ambulance and the officers searched for Lynn. Once he’d radioed for the ambulance he told them not to move as he went to go help with the search for Lynn.

Neither of them said anything as they stood and waited for news. Both of them were tired and scared and Logan wouldn’t let go of Veronica as if he needed to remind himself that she was still there in one piece with him.

“What happened?” he asked finally caressing her stomach with one hand and keeping her close with the other.

She sighed and leaned against him. “I was coming from the doctors and I’d forgotten some stuff at the house so I came back here and I found your mom on the floor. I called you to come home and that’s when…” she trailed off biting her lip not wanting to ignite Logan’s anger. He seemed to be holding it together better than her, but still only by a thread. His arm tightened around her and she let out a low breath.

“Do you think the baby’s ok?” he whispered looking down at her stomach.

“I hope so.” She whispered putting her hand over his. “I haven’t felt him move though, but your dad didn’t get near my stomach so…I guess we’ll find out.” 

He nodded looking over at the gate hearing the sound of people shouting. He wasn’t surprised to see the first few reporters begin to crowd around. Soon after the ambulance arrived they loaded his dad into one and then another came to load his mother who was almost as bad off as his father. Next a third one appeared that insisted on taking Veronica and Logan. Keith agreed with the EMTs especially about Veronica and told them he’d meet them at the hospital for statements and to check in.

When they arrived at the hospital Logan and Veronica were taken to separate rooms and both checked over for injuries. Logan was cleared with only a few bruises, but since Veronica was pregnant they wanted to run every test imaginable. Her dad showed up not long after and began to question Logan as they waited for Veronica to be cleared. Although the doctors weren’t allowing them in the room as they ran the tests, which made them both beyond nervous. So Logan didn’t mind the questions as much as he’d thought since it was serving as a good distraction.

“I know you’re worried, Logan, but can you try to tell me what happened.” Keith asked soothingly.

Logan nodded rubbing his head with his hands as he recalled the events that had taken place. “Veronica called me after her doctor’s appointment. She sounded…scared. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but when she started to tell me to come home I realized something was really wrong. So I waited until the bell rang and I left. I could hear my dad talking about killing and Veronica asked something about Lilly then my mom. I could see them in the living room she was on the ground tied to the coffee table and he was holding a knife so I kinda lunged at him.” Logan took a deep breath his voice shaking as he continued on. “We fought and then Veronica knocked him out with a vase. I saw the tapes on the ground and put them in the VCR. It was…it was Lilly and my dad…they were…they were having sex.” Logan said biting his lip hard to keep from crying. 

Keith nodded listening to Logan’s story.

“I went a little ballistic after that. I just lost it. He had sex with my girlfriend, he tried to kill Veronica and that’s not even mentioning what he’s done in the past.” Logan said his voice thick with unshed tears.

“What’s he done in the past?” Keith asked quietly.

Logan looked down at his feet as he answered. “He used to…well he did…” Logan stuttered.

“Logan, has Aaron…has he hurt you before?” Keith asked watching as he avoided his gaze.

“Veronica wanted me to tell you or for her to tell you, but…I don’t like talking about it.” Logan said quietly.

Keith sighed and sat back putting a hand to the bridge of his nose. He had always wondered about Logan and where he’d gotten the weird bruises from. He remembered this past Christmas and how Logan had looked. He remembered how several times he’d come over saying stupid things about stupid accidents that didn’t exist. Keith could kick himself for not seeing it sooner. He could kick himself for letting his daughter stay in a madman’s house. And he could kick himself for every time that she’d obviously wanted to talk to him, but he was so busy he didn’t have the time. Guilt seeped into Keith’s gut and he knew if he’d taken a closer look at the situation he would’ve seen the truth. Logan had been abused for all these years and he had the gull to say he was a good Sheriff that he kept the town as clean as possible when in reality he was so very wrong. He’d let a friend of his daughter’s be abused for years and he could’ve stopped it long before now. How did he not see it? 

“I’m sorry Logan.” Keith said finally surprised at hearing his own voice was thick with tears as well. “Veronica’s been trying to talk to me and I’ve been so busy with trying to prove Koontz’s freedom and that the Kanes were covering something up.” Keith sighed and put a gentle hand on Logan’s shoulder. He ignored the flinch the young man instinctively did and he smiled softly at Logan.

“I’m so sorry Logan.” He repeated before dropping his hand away. “Come on, let’s go check on Veronica. I have a feeling she’s probably being difficult.”

Logan nodded and followed Keith into Veronica’s room, despite that the doctors insist they stay outside as they tested her for everything under the sun. Apparently the doctors were just as afraid of a badge as everyone else was because they didn’t say anything as the two sat beside Veronica’s bedside.

“What happened to Lynn?” Veronica asked looking between the two of them with worry covering her face. 

“We’re waiting to hear. They said they’d come get us when they knew something.” Logan said hollowly.

“But is she going to be ok?” Veronica asked nervously.

“Honey, we’ll know in a few hours. For now though we need to concentrate on you and the baby.” Keith said soothingly.

Veronica shook her head vehemently. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t brought those tapes home this never would’ve happened.” She insisted tears threatening to fall.

“Honey no one could’ve predicted this. We’re going to do everything we can to help Lynn and to make sure nothing happens to you or the baby or Logan, ok?” Keith said squeezing her hand.

She nodded nervously. 

“Have you felt the baby?” Logan asked quietly.

She shook her head sadly.

Keith sighed, “Alright well tell me what happened while we wait for the results.”

Veronica opened her mouth to respond when her doctor came into the room and interrupted them.

“I’m sorry Sheriff Mars, but I have to do a few more tests before you take her statement. She needs to rest as well. You guys can stay, but please don’t stress her out more than she needs. It’s been a long day.” The doctor said looking between the three of them.

“Is everything ok though? I mean how’s the baby?” Logan asked with apprehension.

The doctor gave him a soothing smile. “So far everything looks fine. We just have a few more tests to run before we know for sure. I’m sure Veronica’s hungry though she’ll want to eat after the tests. How about one of you go get something to eat?” 

Logan nodded looking over at Keith and knowing he was going to be the one going to get food. He wouldn’t ask Keith to leave his daughter. Besides the hospital was making him edgy and uncomfortable. “I’ll grab something. I need to get out of here anyway.” He said getting out of his chair and kissing Veronica on the forehead.

“If my mom’s results come in…” he trailed off not knowing how to continue. The whole situation was too surreal for words. He didn’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t saved Veronica or if his mother died. He didn’t know what was going to happen next and that scared him most of all.

“We’ll call you if you aren’t back.” She said quietly reaching forward and bringing him in for another kiss. She ignored the doctor and her dad needing Logan’s comfort.

Logan nodded and left the room nervous with the results that would be there when he got back. If his mother died because of his father he was going to lose it. He already felt like he was going to lose it, but if anything was wrong with the baby or if the news about his mother wasn’t good he just didn’t know what he was going to do. The anger came rushing back to him tenfold and he clenched his fists trying to remain calm, but he had a feeling that it was going to be a long time before he would ever be calm again.


	31. The Hospital

Chapter 31 The Hospital

Veronica’s head swung to the door at the sound of it opening. She let out a tiny sound of disappointment before going back to the magazine she was reading. Luckily one of the nurses had found her a few magazines to read so she was passing the time between learning about what all the hot celebs were doing and what to expect in the first year in one of those baby magazines.

Her dad gave her a sheepish grin as he came into the room holding the water she had requested.

“Logan’s still not back, huh?” he said quietly breaking the silence.

She shook her head trying not to feel too worried about Logan being gone for almost two hours. How much time did it take to get food, really? But she also suspected that he was trying to come to terms of what had just taken place today. She was honestly still in shock over it. Lilly and Aaron? Aaron trying to kill her? And Lynn, poor Lynn!

She knew he was probably wanting to appear strong for her benefit, but truthfully she just wanted him here with her. She needed to feel him or at the very least to see him to know that everything was going to be ok.

“So the doctors are done, right?” Keith said trying to steer the conversation away from Logan.

She nodded, “everything looks good she said and I should be out of here tomorrow morning.” 

“Well that’s good to hear.” 

“What about Lynn? Any news on her?” Veronica asked caressing her belly. During the last test she’d finally felt the baby kick. Thankfully, she had been worried beyond belief that something was wrong. Since the first time she’d felt the little flutter of the baby moving it began to make her feel comfortable knowing that he was there safe and sound. 

When she didn’t feel him move as long as she did she couldn’t stop from feeling like something was wrong. Now she couldn’t stop touching her stomach knowing that the baby was moving and now even more active than normal. The doctor said that, that was normal and that some babies move more than others in the womb. As they develop sometimes at certain times they’re even more active than others. Veronica was just thankful that the kid was ok because as surprising as the baby was she wanted him. Wanted to watch him grow and turn into a mix of her and Logan. An overly protective little detective. 

Keith shook his head sadly and moved to sit in his vacant chair. “No. I called your mom though. She’s um…Veronica I have to tell you some things you aren’t going to like.”

Veronica looked over at the window not wanting to hear what her father was going to say. “Can we wait a little while longer, please?” she whispered her hands resting on her stomach.

Keith nodded hesitantly. “Sure, honey.” He said before placing his hand over hers.

“How’s the kid, doing? Can I feel him yet?” he asked eagerly.

Veronica smiled, “you can try, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

Keith put his hand where Veronica’s were and waited hoping to feel any movement. After a few minutes he pulled his hand away and sighed.

“You weren’t a big mover until your last few months. I had to always wait so long just to feel you, but around seven months your mom complained all the time of you kicking her insides.” Keith said smiling at the memory.

Veronica rolled her eyes and lay back against the pillows. “Oh joy something else I can look forward to.” She said sighing overdramatically.

Keith smiled lovingly at her.

“So—“ he began, but was cut off by the door opening. Veronica’s head snapped over to the door and her face broke out into a glowing grin seeing Logan standing there with two huge bags of food and three drinks.

“Sorry it took me so long I couldn’t decide what to get.” He said setting the food down on the table and taking each item out one by one. 

“Plus one of the cops took me to get my car.” He added handing hamburgers to Keith and Veronica.

“Which one?” Keith asked taking the offered drink.

“Lance? Or Lawrence or something.” Logan said handing fries to Veronica.

“Leo.” Veronica supplied giving him a look.  
Logan shrugged, “yeah that one. When I left I realized I needed a ride so he offered.” 

“Thank you.” Keith said awkwardly.

“How’s the baby?” he asked looking over at her.

She smiled widely and nodded. “Fit as a fiddle. He’s good and he’s been moving around like crazy now so alls well.” She said rubbing her stomach with one hand as she ate some fries with the other.

Logan gave her a small smile before sitting down at the table and becoming engrossed with his food. Not much was said during their little dinner everyone was too caught up in their own thoughts. Once dinner was over Keith excused himself to talk with the other officers leaving Logan and Veronica alone.

“Have you heard anything about my mom?” Logan asked sitting in the chair Keith had occupied.

Veronica shook her head. “No, but they said they’d come in here when they knew anything. I wish at least we could go see her, but I guess they’re still doing surgery.”

Logan looked away playing with his long sleeves.

“How are you?” she asked gently itching to touch him, but she wasn’t sure what kind of mood he was in since he’d been so distant since the big reveal.

Logan stood up and went to look out the window. He didn’t want to look at her. The damage his dad had done clearly written across her face. He physically hurt looking at her knowing that it was partially his fault that she was in the hospital. It was his dad. She was there because of him. He didn’t want her to end up like Lilly or his mom. He knew that Aaron was now behind bars, but what if he became just like him? What if he—

“Logan?” she said her voice still trying to maintain the gentleness. She tried to keep her own anxieties out of her tone, but she was scared. Scared that Logan was going to lose it, like she was on the verge of doing so. Scared that his dad had done too much damage. Scared for the future.

“Are you ok?” she asked again when he didn’t respond. 

He finally turned to look at her his wild hand gestures starting before his mouth began moving. “You know, I’m fine, really Veronica. I mean I’m not surprised they were both egocentric people. Lilly always did like to do the most degrading things and my dad…boy you know he just…one of a kind. Yeah, sure the video was kind of shocking cause you know, I didn’t realize that my dad or Lilly could fuck me over this bad, but yeah I’m fucking fantastic. Just fucking great. I’m fine so I’m just going to check to see if I can find out anything about my mom and then go home cause I don’t really want to stay here for the night. Hospitals are not for me, you know. It’s where people go to die.” He said offhandedly ending with a slightly maniacal chuckle.

She stared at him not knowing what to do, but knowing one thing. “Please don’t go.” She said easing herself out of bed. She dragged the machine she was hooked up to towards him and cornered him against the window. 

He couldn’t stand to see her looking so frail so he looked outside at the setting sun. The oranges, red, and dark yellow basked the hospital room in shades of warmth. He suddenly thought of sitting on his board in the water watching the sunset like he’d done a hundred times before and he wished desperately that he was out in the ocean and away from the chaos. Away from the guilt.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly watching the sunset across Neptune. “I’m really sorry.” He said again freezing for a moment as her tiny hand brushed across his cheek.

“Logan you don’t have to be sorry, just stay with me, please.” She said hating herself a little for the pleading note that caught on the last word.

He looked down at her hesitantly through his eyelashes and sighed seeing the desperation in her eyes. Something he’d never seen on Veronica Mars before. He knew then that her dependency on him was going to be his undoing. Veronica never needed help she liked to do things herself so when she needed you, you knew that it was important and impossible to say no. 

He’d never really been needed before, not by Lilly, his parents, or his sister and the one person who was increasingly becoming more independent now needed him and he found himself wanting to push her away and help her all at one. Push her away because of his own guilt at the situation and his desire to protect her. To help her was obvious because he cared about her, he liked her a lot, and God help him he was pretty sure he was falling in love with her. Not to mention the little vegetarian growing inside of her, his own son.

He nodded once an almost unseen movement and Veronica’s face broke out into a huge smile before wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. The one thing she needed was for him to wrap his arms around her and make her feel safe. If only for a moment before the next catastrophe struck. She leaned up to kiss him needing to feel his lips on hers. She pressed her mouth to his feeling the familiar sensation of warmth surround her and she tightened her grip on him. His tongue tentatively entered her mouth and she opened wider in invitation. 

The door opened softly interrupting their moment and both of them moved apart quickly.

“Logan, the doctors here.” Keith said awkwardly pretending he hadn’t just seen his daughter and her boyfriend making out.

Logan looked down at Veronica and gave her a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of the room to talk to the doctor who’d been operating on Lynn. Keith closed the door behind him and turned to Veronica giving her a gentle smile.

“Are you ready for the news?” he asked helping her back to the bed.

She sighed and dramatically rolled her eyes. “Fine, I guess. I’m not sure what could be worse than this though.” She said readying herself for the worst.

Keith gave her a small smile and took a breath. “I rented an apartment.” He said.

“Ok…” she said raising an eyebrow.

“We aren’t moving back into the house.” 

“Why not?”

“It’ll be too much to fix and this way we can just start over. It’s nice the one I found. There are three rooms and since Lynn’s…and Aaron’s…you know well I was thinking Logan could come stay with us for awhile.” Keith said giving her a smile.

Veronica studied him suspiciously knowing there’s something else. “Alright. What’s the bad news?”

“You’re mom…she uh…checked herself out of rehab.” He admitted softly.

“Ok…where is she?” Veronica asked trying to match his soft tone, but her’s came out hard.

Keith leaned back in his chair. “I’m not sure. She just checked herself out.” He said watching her closely to see how she was taking the news.

Veronica nodded once to herself and then smiled at her dad. “Well at least I have you.” she said quietly before leaning over to hug him tight. They were interrupted by Logan stumbling through the door his expression impassive.

“How’s Lynn?” Keith asked standing up and walking over to Logan.

Logan sat down heavily at the foot of the bed and looked at the both of them.

“She’s uh she’s in a coma I guess. The surgery went fine, but she fell into some kind of coma. They say it’s temporary, but they aren’t sure when she’s coming out of it.” He said staring at his hands. 

“Oh Logan—“ Veronica started to say reaching out for him, but suddenly he stood up and gave them both a sheepish smile.

“You know, I think I’m going to go. Long day and all. I’ll see you later.” He said leaving the hospital room as quickly as he got there.

Veronica and Keith shared a look neither knowing what to do. Finally Keith patted her sadly on the back.

“It’ll be fine, honey he just needs some time. It’s been a long day for everyone.” He said before kissing her on the forehead and giving her another hug. 

“I’m going to go check in with the other officers and go talk to Aaron so you should get some sleep. I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning.” He said smiling comforting at her.

She nodded still shocked over all the events that had just happened. “Do you think Logan’s going to be ok?” she asked nervously touching her stomach.

Keith opened his mouth to tell her he didn’t know, but thought better of it when he saw the fear in her eyes. 

“I think we just have to let him know we’re there for him. It’s been a long and confusing day, Veronica. Logan just needs some time to come to terms with…everything.” He said before hugging her one more time and going to the door. He looked at her taking in her young pregnant form and wondered how his so smart independent daughter was going to handle all of the things that had been thrown her way. He just hoped that Logan could coop with it too since their story hadn’t even really begun yet.


	32. The Heartache

Chapter 32 The Heartache

Veronica was thankful to be out of the hospital especially because now she got to harass Logan as much as she wanted. He’d rushed out after last night and she’d tried to call him when she got out, but he’d been evading her phone calls. No surprise there. She had to go to his house anyway to get her things so she had her dad drive over there and while he went to go help the investigating officers go through the poolhouse and search the premises for other items she went into the house screaming for Logan. 

She ignored the officers who gave her funny looks and then stomped upstairs to see if he was in his room. When his room was found to be empty she quickly gathered her items and then went back downstairs screaming Logan’s name all the while. Finally she came to Aaron’s study and burst into it expecting to find it empty like the rest of the house sans for officers. She stopped short seeing Logan sitting behind his dad’s desk and twisting around in the chair.

She stared at him for a moment before marching over to him and putting a hand on the chair to get him to stop spinning.

She frowned seeing the bottle of Jack beside him on the floor.

“Why didn’t you answer when I called?” she demanded to know watching him intently.

“Didn’t feel like it.” He mumbled taking a sip from the bottle.

She scowled tempted to rip the bottle from his lips and smash it into the wall.

“Logan—“

“I don’t feel like being your whipping boy anymore Veronica. No ball to your chain. You know, the drill. No more us.” He spat glaring up at her.

Her scowl deepened and she tried to ignore the hurtful words that he threw at her. She told herself he was angry and he was lashing out. Something she knew he did best. She braced herself for the worst. 

“I don’t care. This isn’t about us. This is about you and what is happening. I’m worried—“

“Don’t be. I’m fine. We established that last night.” He said angrily.

“No you aren’t! You are about as fine as…well something not very fine. Like a broken piece of glass or something. You aren’t fine and stop saying you are because I know you, Logan Echolls.” She said matching his angry tones.

He let out a malicious laugh and put the bottle back to his lips drinking in the amber liquid.

“It’s the truth whether you want to admit it or not.” She said quietly, but with as much rage. She wasn’t going to let him drown. She wanted to help him and she was going to no matter what. She didn’t get a chance to help him with all the stuff with Lilly and now she was getting a second chance and she wasn’t going to fuck it up.

“Does anyone ever know someone? I didn’t know my dad killed my girlfriend. I didn’t know my girlfriend would bang my dad. What else do you think people are hiding, Veronica?” he said looking up at her with rage in his eyes.

She sighed knowing that he dealt with hurtful things by getting angry. It was the same thing when Lilly died it seemed to be the same thing now. He was taking his anger out on her because she was the only one who cared. That made her heartache for her boyfriend and how much pain he’d been caused. All she wanted to do was kiss it and make it go away, but she knew better. This was real life.

“I’m not hiding anything, Logan and what they did was…awful, but we’re going to move past it. You’re mom’s going to get better. You’re dad’s going to go to jail and everything will be the way it should be. Now get your shit we’re going to my new apartment.” She said taking a step back to allow him room to get up.

“My dad will even ignore the underage drinking.” She added nodding at the bottle she so desperately wanted to chuck against the wall.

He stared at her for a minute processing her demands. “No.” he said finally drinking from the bottle again.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He added.

She sighed looking down at him and rubbed a hand over her stomach. “Why not?” she demanded.

“Because I don’t want to.” 

“Well I don’t care.”

“I’m not going with you, Veronica.”

“Yes, Logan, you are. You aren’t staying in this house by yourself.” 

Logan was silent as he contemplated her words, her stance, and the emotions in her eyes.

“Why do you even care?” he said finally looking away from her and to the window that overlooked the backyard. He could see the police walking around back there picking up things they thought were evidence.

“Why do I care?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded, “Yeah. I mean we slept together, you got pregnant, I tormented you…Why do you care? How could you forgive me after all of the horrible things I’ve done. How could you even date me?” He said his voice going from offhanded to quiet and almost bashful.

She continued to stare at him not knowing how to respond. “I got over it.” She said finally.

“Why? How I treated you…what I said! Those aren’t things you can forgive.” He said quietly picking at the label on the bottle.

She sighed and leaned against the desk her feet starting to hurt from the shoes she was wearing. Despite being only almost six months pregnant she was noticing aches and pains in places she’d never thought of or wanted to think of. Her feet were hurting, she was tired a lot, and she had to pee all the time. But she was grateful when the baby moved and she was excited to see his cute little face in three months. She just wished that Logan went back to being Logan and not the obligatory jackass he was right after Lilly died.

“Logan, I forgave you when you helped me when my mom came back, when my house burned down and you took me in, every time I see you look at me in the most cherished way I could imagine, when you talk about the baby or when we go to appointments together, and when you make me feel safe. I forgive you. I’ve forgiven you for awhile now and all I want is to help you when you’ve helped me so much.” She said her fingers itching to touch him.

He avoided her gaze instead focusing on the police outside.

“I don’t want anyone’s help. I’m fine.” he said quietly.

“No, Logan you aren’t. Just please come home with me. We’ll go pack some of your things and we’ll go see my new shiny apartment my dad just rented.” She said hope lacing her voice.

Logan didn’t say anything instead reaching for the bottle again and taking a sip. “You know my dad used to take me in here to beat me.” He said after a long minute.

She blanched at the admission and tried to hide the sorrow in her eyes, but she wasn’t quick enough as he looked up at her. Now her fingers craved to touch him wanting to remind him that she was there for him.

“I remember this one time I hadn’t hit any homeruns at my baseball game or did anything remotely spectacular. I was about thirteen at the time. Remember, Duncan and I were on the same team before he switched to soccer?” he paused taking a drink, but never breaking contact with her. “It was the one game dad had actually come to. He came with a few of his friends and it was the one game I didn’t do anything in. After his friends left that night he made me pick out a belt. Mom had just bought a really nice Italian leather one. I wasn’t really sure what it was for, he’d never done this before so I took the new one and brought it to him thinking maybe he was going out or something, you know? So he tells me to take off my shirt and I ask why? He tells me…he tells me I’m a disappointment because I can’t do anything right, not even hit a fucking ball. I was nothing special, just an average kid and he didn’t want average. He told me his friends made fun of him for having such a loser son and that I was a complete waste of space.” Logan paused again suddenly nodding over at the corner near the door. “He beat the shit out of right there. It’s kinda weird what you remember.” He said before taking another drink.

Veronica let out a shaky breath not knowing how to respond to his story. “He’s not going to hurt you anymore, Logan. He’s going to go away for a long time. My dad’s going to make sure of it.”

“And my mom? What if she never wakes up?” he said his voice the same offhanded tone he’d been using since all of this had happened. But Veronica knew better. She knew he was hurting, she could see it behind his public façade. 

She sighed not wanting to lie to him, but not wanting him to hurt anymore. “Please come home with me. I miss you and I don’t like the thought of you being here.” She said avoiding the question.

He looked away not knowing what to say and not liking the sight of tears in her eyes. “You know nothings going to be the same.” He said finally.

“I know, it’s going to be better.” She said before leaning over and placing a delicate kiss to his lips. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a two weeks now since everything had happened at the Echolls estate. People had been treating Logan differently and he’d been more distant and withdrawn than Veronica had ever seen him. In public he was still his typical jackass perverted self, but in private he didn’t talk much and was uncharacteristically quiet. She wasn’t sure what to do to make him happy again. They visited Lynn every day. She was with him constantly trying to make him feel better and he even got to finally feel the baby move. That thankfully had put a smile on his face, but only for a few seconds before he fell back into his morbid depression. Her dad kept telling her to give him time, but she didn’t want to give him time. She wanted her boyfriend back.

It was lunchtime the Friday before the big Eclipse of the Heart dance and Wallace, Mac, Logan and her ate in silence. Something that was rare for the small group since they were all so chatty usually.

“So are you guys going to the dance?” she asked finally breaking the silence.

Wallace shrugged, “Georgia wants to go, but an 80’s dance, really?” he said rolling his eyes.

Logan smirked, “glitter, bad hair, and radical lingo, bro what’s not to love.” He said.

“Are you going?” Mac asked looking at the two of them. 

Veronica looked over at Logan who had gone back to eating his food. She sighed not surprised. Her and Logan had barely talked let alone desired to do anything romantic together. Suddenly an idea came to mind and she grinned at her oblivious boyfriend.

“Not sure yet. Are you?” Veronica said smiling secretively to herself. 

Mac gave her an odd look. “No. I was thinking of asking someone though.” She said quietly her gaze going towards the 09er table where Beaver and Dick sat.

Veronica smiled. “Well maybe we will go then, what do you think, Logan? You wanna go?” she asked nudging him gently in the shoulder.

Logan looked up at them and frowned. “To a school dance?” 

“Yeah it could be fun.” She said shrugging.

Logan smiled softly. “I hate to tell you this, Ronnie, but you’re pregnant. What 80’s movie can you dress up like?”

She frowned, but inside she was happy that she got Logan to smile. “There’s an 80’s movie where Molly Ringwald’s pregnant. Or maybe I can be Vanilla Whore Barbie. I don’t know. I think we should go though. It’ll be fun.” 

He shrugged and went back to playing with his food. “Whatever you want sugarpuss.” He said.

She grinned and had the urge to squeal something that hadn’t happened since her pep squad days. Maybe her boyfriend would finally come out of hiding. She needed her Logan back and she was going to be damned if she didn’t bring him back from the depression he’d resided to.

When they were in the apartment it was nice albeit weird since Logan wasn’t being Logan no matter what she did. They continued to play House and he even got to share her small twin bed with her, something that she’d never thought her dad would go for, but since her dad was working late on the Lilly-Aaron case he wasn’t around much. So they basically did what they wanted. Although on the few nights her dad was home Logan slept on the couch. 

They’d even started putting together the nursery. Although the only thing that had done was pick out a color and look at cribs.

Veronica was happy, she just wished Logan was too. She hoped that maybe her plan would work and Logan would snap out of his funk. He was either being a complete jackass and they argued all of the time or he was sulking and not talking to her. She even caught him drinking a few times when her dad wasn’t home and as much as she wanted to tell him to cut it out she was tired of the fighting. She was beginning to not know what to do so she hoped that her plan worked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next night Veronica was putting the finishing touched on her outfit. She was Molly Ringwald from that 80’s movie where she was pregnant, For Keeps? The movie was not Veronica’s cup of tea, but she didn’t know whom else to dress as. So she wore leggings and an off the shoulder t-shirt with too much make up and teased hair. Logan wasn’t much better dressing up as Randall, the boyfriend from the movie. They both smirked at each other as they finally revealed themselves to the other.

“You look totally righteous, dude.” She said kissing him hard on the mouth.

He chuckled patting her stomach and then pulling her closer. “Only for you, baby.” He leaned down to give her another kiss enjoying the feel of her warm body flush against him. 

“Do you really wanna go? We could just stay here and watch a movie or something. We can even watch the South Park movie for the millionth time.” he said almost begging her not to go.

“Logan, I want to go out and pretend to be normal. No more sulking around. We aren’t going to let our youth waste away anymore! Let’s go out and be normal teens who aren’t dealing with all of this crap. I want to go to a school dance, dance with you and maybe make out in the backseat of your ugly yellow banana.” She said putting her hands on his hips and looking up at him pleadingly.

He sighed and rolled his eyes overdramatically. “Only if I get to spike the punch.” He said finally relenting and taking her hand.

She smiled happy to see him acting like his old self. “Do as you please I promise I won’t tell.” She said reaching up to kiss him again. “Come on I made dinner reservations at Luigi’s before we go.” She said smacking him on the butt to get him into gear.

“Oh my! Buttering me up before we go to the dance, however will I repay you tonight I wonder.” He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She grinned at him. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

“I always do.” He said leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She smiled and grabbed his hand tugging him along. “Come on, baby’s starving.” She whined slightly.

“So since we’re having dinner am I supposed to be putting out tonight.” He said watching in amusement as she dragged him along.

“Only if you want, baby, no pressure. Except when I’ve conned you into my backseat of love.” She said imitating the wiggling of his eyebrows.

Logan laughed as they approached his car and Veronica felt warmed by the sound. Tonight they’d have fun and be normal teens and hopefully Logan would be happy at least for a little bit she thought.


	33. The Dance

Chapter 33 The Dance

“How are you liking the food?” Veronica asked as they sat in the restaurant. She had eaten and scrapped her plate, but Logan who was usually a healthy eater had only eaten half so far.

“It’s good.” He said pushing around the gnocchi with his fork.

“Just good? I love gnocchi.” She said eyeing the little dumplings.

“Do you want some?” he asked pushing some onto the edge of the plate for her. 

She shook her head. “No I’m stuffed. You on the other hand should eat. You need your energy for tonight.” She said grinning at him.

He looked over at her with a smirk. “Really now? And whatever do you have planned? Dancing? A walk on the beach? A sweet kiss on the cheek to say goodnight? Or something a little more rowdy? Sex in the back seat of my X-terra? Or better yet the school science lab. I’ve always wanted to do it on Mr. Woo’s desk.” Logan said leering at her.

She rolled her eyes and stole a dumpling off his plate. “I’m not sure. I have yet to decide if I want to put out on the second date.” She said sighing wistfully. “Whatever would my Pa think.” She said in her southern belle accent.

Logan smiled, “I think he’d probably say you would have to be married off to the first man who’s tainted you and that ladies and gents would be yours truly.” He said pointing at himself with his thumbs.

She laughed and reached a hand across the table. “You know, tell me now if you don’t want to go. We can always go home and watch a bad 80’s movie. Make out on the couch maybe get to the hanky panky.” She said winking at him.

He squeezed her hand in his and leaned across the table to give her a quick peck. “As thoughtful as that is. You want to go, so we’ll go.” He said popping another dumpling into his mouth and chewing.

“Alright, if you say so.” She said reluctantly. As much as she wanted to go out and have fun and enjoy being sixteen she couldn’t help the uneasy swirling of her stomach. It was no secret that things had been tough lately and she was hoping that today would change their path and put them back on the right road, but she couldn’t help but remember this was Neptune and nothing went according to plan.

“I say so.” He said giving her another kiss before pushing the plate over to her and allowing her to finish it.

She watched him causally from across the table as she ate the rest of his food and hoped that tonight would be normal and teen focused. Logan needed it. She needed it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“This is like totally rad, dude.” Veronica said in her best surfer voice. Logan shot her an annoyed look whether for dragging him to the dance or for doing a great impression of Dick she was unsure. But she did see the slight smile in his eyes even as the annoyance was written across his face. 

Walking into the gym was literary like walking back into time. There was glitter everywhere with the words ‘Eclipse of the Heart’ written in large bold letters at the entrance of the gym. The usually fashion forward students of Neptune were donned in leggings, bright colors, sparkles, and anything 80’s they could get their hands on.

“Hey guys!” Meg said waving excitedly when she saw them from across the room. She said something to Duncan who was basically dragged over to them a forced smile on his face and a genuine one on hers.

“Hey.” Veronica said tightening her hold on Logan. Even if everything had been worked out with Duncan before, everything was again a mess after the big revelation that Aaron was Lilly’s real killer.

“How are you liking the dance?” Meg asked glancing at Duncan who was looking anywhere but at Veronica and Logan.

“Totally righteous.” Veronica said adapting her surfer 80’s voice.

Meg smiled and looked between Logan and Duncan unsure as Veronica steadfastly ignored the tightening grip on her hand.

“So how is everything going?” Meg asked taking another stab at conversation.

“As well as to be expected.” Veronica said softly finally looking at Logan who was staring at Duncan as if he was waiting for him to say something.

“How’s the baby?” Meg asked.

“Good. Good. Everyone’s good.” Veronica said awkwardly before finally excusing herself and Logan from the uncomfortable conversation. She pulled Logan into a corner and gave him a hard look.

“Are you ok?” she asked for what felt like the millionth time in the last few weeks.

He looked down at her and gave her a smirk, “fine. It’s Duncan that’s being weird.”

“Don’t you think it’s understandable though? I mean he did find out—“ she cut herself off when she saw the rage in his eyes.

“Veronica you drag me to a dance that I don’t want to be at with people that I don’t want to see. I have no friends because no one wants to be friends with the son of a killer and my mom is making no progress towards coming out of the deep sleep she’s in. I have no desire to be here whatsoever. I’m doing this for you.” he said   
angrily.

She opened her mouth a few times trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make him more angry, but before she could respond Dick came over with his typical goofy grin.

“Dick.” She said rolling her eyes when he subtly or as subtly as Dick can do anything took out his flask.

“What’s up dudes?” He said offering the flask to Logan who took it without a second thought.

“Fine.” Veronica said annoyed. She had wanted tonight to go well and yet everything seemed to be going to hell. Typical Neptune.

“Susan’s having an after party if you guys wanna go.” He said smiling enthusiastically. 

“Maybe you’re friend Ghostworld wants to come.” He said eyeing Veronica over the rim of his flask.

Veronica frowned not understanding what Dick was talking about, but that was nothing new.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to, but I don’t think we should go.” She said looking at Logan who was sipping from the flask.

“Sounds fun.” Logan said ignoring Veronica’s angry stare.

“Oooo trouble in paradise.” Dick mocked looking back and forth between them. He made a gesture between them and smiled. “So which is it? You in or out?” Dick said looking back and forth between the two.

“Logan—“ Veronica began her warning tone in full effect. She wasn’t doing this tonight. She wasn’t going to fight with him, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that tonight was really not going to go how she planned. He was daring her to say something about not going so he could grab on to that and make excuses for their argument. That how it was lately with everything. He would be in a bad mood and then lash out on her when she disagreed with him. She wanted tonight to be fun and so far he was angry about Duncan and he was taking it out on her. She was his scapegoat. She wouldn’t give in. But she didn’t want to go.

“Veronica!” Mac said loudly over the 80’s music and pulling Wallace along after her with Georgia.

“Hey.” Veronica said merely glancing at her friends before turning back to her staring contest with Logan.

“Hey Ghostworld!” Dick said loudly over the music. He looked at Wallace and Georgia and then back at Mac.

“No date?” he said trying to be nonchalant.

Mac blushed. “I wanted to ask someone…” she trailed off feeling embarrassed by her lack of date.

“Cool. Me too. Flying solo.” He said making an airplane sound and then making his hand sail across the air.

“Maybe we could be each other’s dates.” He said winking down at her.

She frowned unable to tell if he was messing with her or not. “Uh…” she said eloquently.

He grinned taking her non-answer as a positive answer. “Sweet. You should come to the part at Susan’s tonight.” He said wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his body. “I’ll show you off.” He said then held up his flask. “Wanna share?” 

“Uh…” she said looking over at Veronica pleadingly.

Veronica shrugged and looked back at Logan who was now talking to Wallace.

“Are you guys coming tonight or what?” Dick said putting an arm around Veronica and getting ready to pull her in when she shot him a hateful glare. He immediately dropped his arm.

“Sorry. Pregnant. You know.” She said shortly before turning to Logan and offering a hand.

“Dance with me.” she commanded.

He took her hand without question and they went onto the dance floor away from their friends. Veronica smiled slightly as she watched Wallace and Georgia go on to the dance floor followed shortly by a tipsy Dick and Mac. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” she asked quietly as they swayed to ‘Come Sail Away.’

He shrugged and pulled her closer. “I guess. Dinner was good.” He said shortly resting his forehead on hers. “But mostly I just like dancing with you.” he whispered leaning down to kiss her and with that one kiss all of his anger seemed to melt away and he forgot about his issues with Duncan. She let out a tiny sigh as their kiss deepened.

She responded in kind until air became an issue and she pulled away gently. “You don’t really wanna go to that party right?” she asked slightly worried.

“It could be fun.” 

She bit her lip and looked away from him and across the dance. “Do you think you and Duncan will be friends again?” she asked abruptly changing the subject. 

“I’m not sure if I want to be.” He said honestly.

She raised an eyebrow at him wondering if he would elaborate.

“I’ve known the guy for years and at the first sign of trouble he bolts. Plus I still don’t know if I forgive him after he kissed you. I know he’s with Meg now, but…”   
Logan trailed off and instead kissed her on the forehead and brought her as close as he could her bump pressing into him. 

“I don’t want to go to the party.” She said softly.

He sighed, “ok.”

“Is that ok?”

“Sure. I mean it would be nice getting out and everything, but if you don’t want to go that’s fine.” 

“You can go.”

“I don’t want to go without you.”

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. “Logan.” She paused gathering her wits to continue. “I don’t want to hold you back from things. If you want to go, please go. I’m just worried about you.” she whispered embarrassed with herself for being so girly and clingy to him. 

She heard him sigh and when she looked up at him he was looking over her head. “How about we leave now? Make good with the extra energy we have. Maybe cash in on the previously hinted at back seat sex. I did buy dinner after all I expect to be rewarded. In kind.” He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She smiled and instead of over analyzing everything like she’d been doing she decided to just live in the moment. She was sixteen already pregnant she could have sex during a dance in the backseat of her boyfriend’s car.

“Only if I can brag about it in the locker room after. I need something to one up the other boys and their locker room talk.” She said smirking up at him.

He grinned and they stopped dancing as the song ended. She wanted to go say bye to her friends, but she saw how wrapped up they were in their dates and decided against it. She did make a mental note to ask Mac about Dick. Last time she checked she was into Cassidy.

Logan led her out of the dance their fingers entangled as they walked into the parking lot. Them came closer to his car and leaned against the car as their mouths became as entangled as their fingers. She felt her stomach drop in excitement as his tongue caressed hers and she wondered if she was ruined for anyone else because of the way Logan made her feel. 

Generally Logan was the one that took control, but for some reason tonight felt different and instead of waiting for him to push her into the car she snatched the keys from his 80’s pants and unlocked the door before climbing into the back. She gave him a come hither look and he quickly climbed in after her. It took some maneuvering around since neither of them were used to how big Veronica was getting. She sat in his lap straddling his waist and peppered his face with kisses. She couldn’t get enough of him. She craved to feel his skin on hers. 

He paved a way of kisses down her neck. He was already pushing her underwear and leggings to the side eager to feel her warmth.

“Is this ok?” she breathed referring to their position before letting out a tiny hiss as his finger began to circle her outer lips.

“Perfect, Ronnie.” He said chuckling against her lips before pushing his fingers into her. She squeezed his shoulders and let her mouth drop open into a silent scream as he curled his fingers slightly and pumped in and out of her.

“Feels so good.” She mumbled opening her eyes and meeting his own. He smirked at her always eager to watch her come undone before him. She moved forward pressing a hard kiss to his lips wanting to say the words she still couldn’t. Now was more important than ever for him to understand what she wanted to say. She wished she could finally say the words, but after everything she had experienced in the past year she was still wary. Especially now that he was so moody with everything about his dad and Lilly. She knew he was hurting and regardless of what she did she still couldn’t figure out how to help him. 

“Logan.” She growled as she began to clench around his fingers. She could feel it. She was just on the edge. He just needed to hit that spot and she’d be sent over the edge. She kissed him again lust raging through her body and the desire of having him as close as possible taking over any rational thought.

Suddenly before she could reach her happy moment he slide his fingers from her and fumbled with his pants as he pushed them down. She looked down to see his engorged cock ready for her. Without a second thought she lowered herself on to him and shivered as she engulfed his length into her warmth.

“You’re beautiful.” He breathed feeling the warmth he so craved wrap around him. He placed his hands on her waist and lowered his head for a kiss as they adjusted to the sensations on their most sensitive areas. 

She began to moved when she was finally adjusted with his size and their eyes met as she rocked her hips and he matched her strokes. He took one hand from her waist and put it on her sensitive nub massaging her as she moved. Sensations of pleasure rocked their bodies. Their bodies moved in unison and Veronica knew she wasn’t going to last much longer as he continued to massage her. 

Logan suddenly lifted her all the way off his length and then slammed her back on to him going as deep as possible. Combined with the pressure on her clit her world was sent reeling as she finally hit that spot that sent her over the edge. She began to clench around him and soon after his hot seed shot into her signaling that he finally reached his own climax. 

She stayed where she was for a moment and leaned down to kiss him sweetly on the lips. He tasted promises and marshmallows and he knew that she was it for him.

“Are you glad we came now?” she breathed sliding off of him carefully and reaching for her leggings and panties.

He laughed a deep belly laugh and pulled her to him again wanting to feel her lips.

“I’m so glad you came.” He said giving her a lecherous look.

She laughed despite herself and sat beside him in the backseat their hands loosely entangled.

“I just wanted you to have fun.” She said quietly looking over at him. The moonlight played across his face and she could only see his eyes luminous in the dark and staring at her with an intensity she only found in Logan.

“It was fine, Ronnie. I had fun. Not exactly at the dance, but the dinner and the dessert were most especially fun.” He said grinning at her.

She nodded thinking how she’d only accomplished half of her goal of getting his mind off of everything. It wasn’t the perfect night she wanted, but she tried and at least he was smiling.

“You don’t have to do things to make me happy or have fun or anything.” He said quietly tightening his grip on her hand. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Just being with you makes me happy.” He admitted in a whisper before kissing her nose and then her lips. He moved away too fast before she could respond as he pulled his pants up and climbed into the front. A moment later she was beside him and she thought of the millions of things she could say back to him. She wanted something witty and telling and thoughtful.

“You too.” She said finally as they pulled out of the parking lot. He shot her a smile and she felt her stomach flutter at the knowledge that it was her who put that smile on his face.


	34. The Sheriff

Chapter 34 The Sheriff

Veronica dipped her plastic spoon into the hot fudge and made a little sigh of contentment as it met her mouth. She had been craving chocolate for days now and finally she had time to have go to the ice cream store with Mac and catch up while eating the sweet treat. 

It had been a few days since the dance and she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Mac since. She had been too preoccupied by schoolwork or Logan or things to do with the baby. She had finished the books and had started making lists of things they would need. She had also decided on the colors and a mural she really liked, but so far no crib or anything of use really. She had tried to get Logan more involved, but he was as helpful as a bear in a toys store. Meaning he wasn’t at all. 

She wanted to do this with him, but in the last few days since the dance his mood had gone back to how it was before. She had thought they had, had a fun time, but the morning after demonstrated how Logan had gone back to the angry version of himself. He’d barely talked to her instead making excuses to go out with Dick and Beaver. As a matter of fact in the four days since the dance he’d barely spoken to her and instead went out with everything that wasn’t here. In the days since the dance they’d spent even less time together than in the beginning. She was trying to be supportive and not clingy, but the more he wasn’t around the more worried she became.

She didn’t understand why he was being this way, but she had an inkling of a clue that it had to do with the anger he felt over Lilly and his dad and the guilt that he felt about his mom. She also figured that it had something to do with his fear of turning into his dad, but currently he was just as distant as he’d been in the last few weeks regardless of how nice it was to have a night of teenage normalcy.

“Are you enjoying that?” Mac teased eating her own hot fudge sundae.

“I’ve gone to heaven.” Veronica said taking another spoonful.

“So what’s been up, Que?” Veronica asked looking over at Mac innocently.

Mac shrugged, “nothing much, Bond.”

“Hm…” Veronica said taking another bite and then leveling her with a stare. “Nothing at all? Even though I did see you dancing with one Dick Casablancas at the Heart   
of the Eclipse dance?” she asked raising an eyebrow at her.

Mac blushed and looked away. “We danced. Nothing else.” She said shortly.

“Not even a smooch?! Come on Mac-Attack give me something! Are you into Dick or Beaver?” Veronica asked curiously.

Mac blushed and looked down. “He prefers Cassidy.”

“Oh! So you’re into Cassidy, then?” Veronica asked excitedly.

Mac shook her head, “I didn’t say that!”

“So you’re into Dick?”

“I didn’t say that either!” Mac whined and shoved another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“Ok…” Veronica said trailing off.

Mac let out a huff and looked over at sundae at Veronica. “I liked Cassidy for a long time, but after hanging out with Dick at your party and then at the dance…well he’s pretty cool too.” Mac said softly.

“Hm…dilemma….interesting.” Veronica mused tapping her chin.

“What should I do?” Mac asked softly.

Veronica laughed uncomfortably and shook her head. “I am not the right person to ask. Logan and I are still in a weird limbo period. I am like the last person you should ask.” She said shaking her head.

“What’s going on with you and Logan?” the computer whiz asked.

The teen detective shrugged helplessly. “He’s just so angry and sad over everything, I don’t know what to do. It would really help if his mom could wake up. We are going on week three over.” She said rubbing a hand over her stomach.

Mac patted her hand sympathetically. “It’ll get better.”

“So you say.”

“It can’t get worse, right?”

Veronica scowled at her, “It could SO get worse. Less talk about me. More about you, so which is it, Dick or Cassidy?”

Mac groaned. “It’s not like I have a chance with Dick anyway! I mean its Dick Casablancas! He liked busty blondes and snobby cheerleaders! What could we possibly even talk about? Or have in common! I mean its Dick! He surfs and smokes pot and drinks at school dances. I like computers and books and foods with no animal products.” Mac exclaimed throwing her hands in the air.

Veronica smiled slightly. “What did you talk about at the dance?”

“School, the party, his brother, computer games, animals, why I’m vegetarian, the dan—“

“So you guys talked a lot, right?” she asked cutting her off.

“I guess…” Mac mumbled looking at Veronica sheepishly.

“Well there’s your answer. So let’s try again. Dick or Beaver?”

“I don’t know.” Mac mumbled.

“Try again. Dick or Beaver? Who makes you laugh? Or makes your stomach flip flop when they walk into a room? Dick or Beaver?” Veronica pried.

Mac rolled her eyes. “Gee Veronica when did you become such a girl.”

“Gee Mac when did you become so evasive?”

They stared at each other until Mac looked away red creeping up her neck knowing she was caught.

“So?” Veronica prompted.

Mac’s face turned even redder and Veronica made a fist and pumped it in the air. 

“Knew it.” Veronica said watching Mac blush.

Veronica grinned and took another spoonful of ice cream. “So are you going to ask him out?” she asked eagerly.

“No! Oh my God! No!” Mac exclaimed.

Veronica laughed at the expression on her face. “Why not! I’m telling you! Just go for it! Be a Nike commercial!”

“I can’t Veronica! It’s Dick! He’ll laugh at me or make fun of me or—“

“What if Logan and I go out with you? Like a double date?” Veronica volunteered.

Mac stopped talking and regarded her with a look. “You’d do that?”

“Of course! Besides I’m trying to get Logan out of this weird funk, spending time out of his head would do him some good.”

“So how are you going to do that? I mean wasn’t the dance supposed to do that?” Mac asked quietly.

“Yes, but I’m just going to keep trying. When his mom wakes up everything will be better. Hopefully before the baby comes. I cannot do this alone if Logan is like this.” Veronica admitted quietly.

“I think you could if you really had to.”

“But I don’t want to. Logan said he wouldn’t leave and he’s been my rock. Now its just time for me to be his.” She said staring at her slowly melting ice cream.

“It’s nice that you found someone who loves you. I wish I had that.” Mac mumbled without thinking.

“He doesn’t!” Veronica almost yelled making half of the ice cream shop go silent.

“Doesn’t, what?” Mac asked confused.

“Doesn’t love me. We’re just…we care about each other. A lot.” Veronica said awkwardly.

Mac stared at her for a moment not knowing what to say before taking another scoop from her ice cream.

“Ok, Bond, whatever you say.” Mac said watching as Veronica busied herself with finishing her ice cream. She regarded her friend as she ate her ice cream wondering exactly what was going on between Logan and Veronica. They both seemed equally lost and Mac knew they equally needed each other. So why was Veronica denying she loved Logan and why was Logan pushing Veronica away? Mac figured she might as well ask Dick out as quickly as possible so that LoVe didn’t implode. She told herself she was agreeing to the double date because of Logan and Veronica that was it. It wasn’t because she may have feelings of the more than friendly variety for Dick she just wanted to help her friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t busy either. The place was a typical hole in the wall establishment where kids like Logan knew he wouldn’t be carded. He had the money and they knew he could pay especially knowing who he was so they didn’t care if he drank. 

So when Veronica thought he was hanging out with Dick and Beaver or at school or doing something else he was actually drinking his pain and guilt away. He knew after years of watching his mother and then later on Veronica’s mother that it wouldn’t solve anything, but right now it was doing everything to keep him sane.

He knew he was treating his girlfriend badly. He knew he was being cold and distant and he knew that he couldn’t continue down this road, but he couldn’t stop and he wasn’t sure how he could ask for help. Especially from Veronica who could handle anything that was thrown at her. He felt weak for going to the bottle, but he couldn’t help himself when he had so much inside him just waiting to explode. 

Maybe he took it out on Veronica because he knew she’d never leave him. Or maybe he was pushing her away so he could save her from himself. Whatever the reason was he knew without her he’d be even more broken and he didn’t want that, but at the same time it didn’t stop him from being the obligatory jackass.

It was half past three and he was in no mood to go back to the Mars’ residence. He also wasn’t in the mood to see Veronica. If he saw Veronica he knew the guilt he was holding back would finally burst through. Guilt for becoming his father. Guilt because of neglecting Veronica. Guilt for how he’d been since his the terrible day when the truth came out. He knew his guilt didn’t make sense, but that didn’t alleviate any of the pain.

He also didn’t want to go see his mother laying deathly pale in that bed making no move to come out of the coma. Instead he’d rather waste away his time at the bar spending his dad’s hard earned cash as he became lost to the bottle.

Suddenly the door opened to the seedy establishment and Logan heard heavy boots on the wood floor. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and without turning to look at the newcomer he knew already who it was.

“Logan.” Keith said sliding into the barstool beside him.

“Sheriff Mars.” Logan said squeezing the glass in his hand and then turning to Keith.

Keith gave him a calm smile and then looked at the half full glass.

“I would say I’m surprised to see you here, but I’m not.” Keith said taking the glass from Logan’s hand and sliding it a ways down the bar.

“You don’t say.” Logan mumbled bracing himself before turning fully to Keith.

Once their eyes met Keith sighed and looked away from him.

“I know you’re hurting, Logan. Veronica is too, hell I think most of the town is from this revelation, but drowning your pain and anger in alcohol isn’t the best thing for you, especially now.” Keith said wisely.

Logan looked away and began to draw doodles with the perspiration from the glass. “Yeah I know.” He said eventually.

“Then why are you here?” Keith asked.

Logan shrugged staring down at the bar counter. “Because.” He said shortly.

Keith sighed and sat back in his chair.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Logan. I can treat you like my daughter’s boyfriend or I can treat you like an underage drinker. Which is it?” Keith asked his voice filled with frustration.

Logan paused thinking about either option and then finally relented. “I pick the former.”

“Good. Now tell me why you are here and not off with Veronica?” 

“Because…whatever I look at her…now I just can’t help but think about what if, you know. What if Aaron had killed her? What if she realized she was better off without me? What if she left me? What if she realized she didn’t want to be with a son of a killer? Or what if she saw that I was just like my father. I know she deserves better than me.” Logan whispered feeling a bit self conscious he was telling Keith this.

Keith shifted beside him trying to find the words to comfort him. “Logan, Veronica as we both know is pretty headstrong. If she wants something she’s going to get it and you are what she wants. So stop sitting in seedy bars in bad parts of Neptune and just go be with her. I know none of this has been the best situation for either of you, but Veronica would be lost without you. As difficult as that is for me to say I think we both know that.” Keith said smiling slightly.

“Yeah, but what if—“

“Logan I know you’re feeling guilty and angry, but pushing Veronica away isn’t going to save her or make you feel better. It’s going to make both of you feel worse. So you can sit here and feel sorry for yourself or you can go apologize to Veronica and be the man she knows you can be.” Keith said wisely.

Logan looked at him and for the first time he saw Keith as Veronica saw him. As a wise man with a heart of gold who knew exactly what to say when the chips were down. Veronica put all of her faith into her dad and now Logan did too.

“Thanks.” Logan said after a moment and then threw a twenty on the counter.

He moved to get up, but paused looking over at Keith. “How did you know I would be here?” he asked curiously.

Keith smirked, “Sheriff’s intuition.” He said winking at him.

Logan smiled despite himself. “Do you think I’ll make a good father?” he asked out of the blue.

Keith studied him for a moment looking into Logan’s tumultuous eyes. Finally he nodded. “I do. It takes time to get this knowledgeable, but I think you and Veronica will figure everything out. Now come on I’ll take you home and send one of the guys to pick up your car.”

Logan nodded and they went towards the door and into the parking lot. As Keith radioed someone to come pick up Logan’s car his phone rang. Brief words Logan didn’t listen to were spoken. His mind was preoccupied with Veronica and Keith’s wisdom. When Keith hung up he looked over at Logan with wide eyes.

“Lynn’s awake.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Logan.” Lynn rasped when Logan walked into the room.

He stared at her for a moment before rushing forward and hugging her as tightly as he could. Her smell surrounded him and he remembered all of the times his mother had hugged him and took care of him when he was sick or injured when he was younger. 

Her arms brought comfort and safety and for the first time in a long time he allowed a few tears to fall as he was held by his mother. When he realized he was crying he pulled back instantly and wiped his face not wanting her to see. He wanted her to know he’d been strong when she was asleep, but he also knew that he hadn’t been. As he stared at his mother now looking tired, but slowly healing he felt guilt for the way he’d been while she was asleep. He brushed the feeling away though thinking of Keith’s words and forced a smile.

“How are you?” he asked quietly holding her hand and sitting in the chair beside her bed he’d occupied on more than a few occasions.

She shrugged and gave him a comforting smile. “How have you been I think is the more important question?” she asked.

He looked away thinking of all of the things that had happened. All of the things he had done to hurt Veronica and to hurt the people who were looking out for him. The guilt from before hit him again and he pushed it away not wanting to deal with it. 

“How’s Veronica?” Lynn pressed.

“Good, she’s at 25 weeks now.” He said staring at the bed covers.

Lynn smiled and began to tell a story about when Logan was young. He wasn’t paying attention though as his mind reeled with everything that was going on. His mother was awake. His father was in jail. Now that Lynn was awake he had to leave Veronica.

After sitting with his mother for awhile there was a soft knock on the door and Keith popped his head in. He smiled at Logan and then greeted Lynn with a tentative smile.

“Hey Lynn, how are you?” Keith asked stepping fully into the room.

“I’m doing ok. The doctors say it’ll be a slow recovery, but eventually I hope to go home.” She said quietly.

Keith smiled, “That’s really good Lynn you had us all very scared.” He said glancing over at Logan who was playing with his too long of sleeves.

“Whenever you’re ready though I’m going to need a recount of the events and a statement.” Keith said quietly.

Lynn nodded and turned to Logan. “Honey, how about you go get something to eat? Or call Veronica? I want to see her. I need to talk to Keith about what happened and…” she trailed off giving him a severe look. 

Logan opened his mouth to argue, but seeing the pain in her eyes and the sympathetic one in Keith’s he had a feeling he wasn’t going to win. He also figured that his mother wouldn’t be too keen on going into the little details of what his father had done with him right beside her. He knew her well enough that she hid her pain and she didn’t want him to know about it. It was too late for that, but he didn’t want to burst her bubble. He also knew that Veronica would be worried so he removed himself from the chair kissed his mother’s cheek and nodded to Keith as he left the room.

Once he was outside the room he stood there for a moment contemplating what to do. Finally he picked up his phone and dialed one for Veronica. It rang a few times before her voice filtered through the cell and he felt instantly better hearing it. He wondered briefly how he could be so stupid to push her away. He wouldn’t survive without her.

“Logan?” she said when he didn’t say anything. 

“Hey.” He said cringing at how raspy his voice was from crying.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m at the hospital.”

“Its everything ok? Is it your mom? Are you hurt? Do you want me to come there?” she rushed out feeling panic rise within her.

“I’m fine, Ronnie. It’s my mom. She’s—she’s awake. And yeah I do. Come here.” He said listening as she began to rattle off even more questions.

“Veronica just come to the hospital. Your dad’s here and you can ask all the questions your little heart desires. Just…come here. Please.” He said his voice crackling slightly.

“Of course. I’m on my way.” She said.

“Ok, but drive the speed limit and be careful. I—uh—I’ll see you soon.” He stuttered before listening as she said goodbye. He waited until she hung up and then he sat in the waiting room trying to make sense of everything that had happened. As he sat there he thought about what Keith said. He knew that things weren’t going to change overnight and the pain, guilt , and angry weren’t just going to leave, but if he dealt with it one day at a time and with Veronica by his side maybe he could possibly handle it.


	35. The Bomb

Chapter 35 The Bomb

“How is she?” Veronica asked rushing out of the elevator and into the waiting room where Logan sat impatiently.

“She’s fine. Your dad’s in there now.” He said standing up and pulling her into him. He hugged her as tightly as he dared in her condition and buried his head into her hair. He steadily breathed the calming scent of her in and out and in and out until he felt the familiar safety and calmness that he associated with Veronica overwhelm him.

“Are you ok?” she asked when he finally loosened his grip on her and led her over to the chair he was sitting in. They sat beside each other, but there was barely any room between them since his arm was wrapped around her shoulders and her arm was draped across his lap. Their hands were clasped together and Veronica felt the familiar warmth that always happened when he touched her. It felt too long since the last time they were so close, minus the dance he’d barely touched her.

“I’m fine. I’m just glad she’s awake.” He said quietly.

She smiled and tilted her head slightly studying him. “How long has my dad been in there?” 

“Since I called you.”

She nodded and leaned against him. He untangled their fingers and brought his hand gently to place on her bump.

“How’s he doing?” he asked quietly.

She smiled softly looking down at his hand on her. “He’s doing good. Kicking a lot, you know. We still have a lot to do, Logan.” She said quietly.

“I know.” 

They sat there for awhile each lost in their own thoughts, but their position never changed each wanting to be as close to the other as possible.

As Veronica dozed beside him waiting to go see Lynn Logan heard a commotion over by the elevators. He looked up just in time to see a man dressed in black with a camera in his hand burst down the hallway security at his heels. The man started snapping pictures of Logan and then without warning he burst into Lynn’s room and began to take pictures of her. Without thinking of what he was doing Logan jumped up and stormed over to the paparazzi. He could hear Veronica yelling behind him, but all he could see was red. 

He couldn’t stand the pap normally. They made money off of other people’s woes. He hated them always had. Now when his life was so torn up people were getting off trying to capture the perfect shot of star destruction. They were still chasing him and his family around. He had tried to avoid the tabloids, but now he could see how big the story had gotten because of his murdering psychotic father and the damage he did. With his mother finally coming out of a coma he wasn’t in the mood today and he did the first thing that popped into his head. 

He punched the guy straight in the face. Logan smiled sardonically when he heard the sickening crunch of the guy’s nose breaking and the blood began to rush down his face.

Veronica’s voice became louder and he could feel her taking his arm and pulling him away just as security finally got there.

“You asshole! You fucking rich prick!” the paparazzi screamed holding his nose.

“I’m the asshole? You’re the one making money off of a woman who just woke up from a coma! Take a look in the mirror you’re the fucking asshole!” Logan yelled glaring at the guy.

“You’re going to pay for that!” the guy yelled as security began to handcuff him.

“I’d think twice before threatening me. You did just violate some laws by busting in here and then taking pictures of a patient who’s in critical condition. I’d think hard about what you say next.” Logan said smirking at him.

“I didn’t break any laws.” The guy said.

“You did actually.” Keith said from the doorway. He looked at Logan and then Veronica over his shoulder.

“Lynn just fell asleep. How about you two head home. I’ll handle this.” He said taking the guy in handcuffs down the hall.

Logan looked over at Veronica and they both headed into Lynn’s room. She was indeed sleeping and Veronica watched Logan go over and make sure she was all right before coming back to her. Without speaking they left the hospital and went to Veronica’s car.

“Where’s your car?” she asked surprised that he was following her.

“I was with your dad.” He said massaging his knuckles.

She looked at him while unlocking her door and they climbed in neither ready to speak yet.

“Logan…” she began casting a look over at him.

He continued to stare down at his knuckles and she knew what she was going to say was going to cause another argument so she started the car to ensure that he wasn’t going to jump out to avoid speaking with her.

“You can’t keep doing this.” She said finally as they drove out of the parking lot and towards her apartment.

“Doing what?” he asked playing dumb.

“This! Get angry, lash out, drink your sorrows away! I’ve been dealing with it for almost a month and I’m not doing it anymore! I want to help you, I want to make everything go away, but I can’t if you won’t talk to me! Not to mention we’re going to have a baby in three months! We need to at least be semi-normal.” She ranted staring at the street and glancing over at him every couple of minutes.

“Sorry to be such a burden, Ve-ron-i-ca.” he said elongating her name like he used to when he mocked her all those months ago.

She huffed and glared at him at a red light.

“I’m serious, Logan. I’ve tried to help—“

“How? By forcing me to move in with you and your dad and dragging me to dances? How exactly have you helped?” he spat.

She slammed on the accelerator and sped towards her apartment. 

“I asked you to move in with me because I didn’t want you to be in that shrine by yourself! I made you go to the dance for a night of teenage normalcy! I want you back, not the obligatory jackass you’re being! I’m not raising a kid with you acting like this! Either deal with your issues or we’re done.” She said without thinking about what she was saying. 

He was silent for a long time, “You’d really break up with me after everything? You’re pregnant, Veronica! What about the baby?” he asked his voice hard as steel.

“Joint custody. I want to be with you, but I can’t be with you if you’re pushing me away and acting cold and distant. I get that you’re hurting, but so am I! So is your mom! And you can’t keep drinking your pain away or punching people you don’t like.”

“That pap asked for it!” Logan yelled as they pulled into her apartment complex.

“I’m not saying he didn’t I’m just asking you to think before you act. Stop drinking while you’re at it and please let me help you.” she begged as she pulled into her usual parking spot. 

Immediately as she parked Logan jumped out of the car. She followed him as quickly as her extra girth could allow and moved in front of him to block him.

“Logan I lo—care about you and I don’t want to see you like this. If we’re going to work we need to work through this, together.” She said grabbing his hand to get him to understand.

He ripped his hand away and took a step around her. “This is me, Veronica, so if you don’t like it maybe we don’t have a future together after all.” He said before turning and walking away.

“Where are you going?” she shouted after him hurt and confused.

“A place where degenerates go.” He said while walking out of the parking lot. She watched him go at a loss and then carried herself upstairs. She understood he was hurting so was she, but they were expecting a baby and had no time to live in the past. They had to look to the future. She was tired of his attitude and she was scared that this was going to continue. 

She could feel the tears well up in her eyes as she thought about raising this little boy by herself. The tears started off slow as her mind went back to how Logan said he would be there, but so far he’d proven to be the jackass she had hoped had disappeared. Where was the Logan that promised her he’d be there? Where was the Logan who was excited for the baby? The tears turned into full sobbing and she was glad that her dad was working and proceeded to do a very un-Veronica like behavior and cry until she couldn’t anymore. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica was in the office signing out to go to her doctor’s appointment. It was a few days after Lynn had woken up and the huge fight that they’d had. They’d barely spoken both skating around the other one. She had noticed he wasn’t drinking and she felt that was a sign that maybe he was going to get on the right track. 

He spent a lot of time with his mom and she understood that although she wished he would talk to her, but every time she’d tried he turned away. So she was going to the appointment by herself and she told herself she didn’t care, but she knew that was a lie.

She was just about to leave when she heard Clemmon’s voice filter through the small crack in his open door. She knew he was on the phone she’d seen him on it when she’d walked in and he had closed the door. Or at least thought he’d closed the door. Her ears prickled as she caught wind of his conversation.

“…bomb threats.” He was saying.

She paused and inched closer to the door. She made sure that no one else was in the office, which was not as weird as one would think since it was lunch time and the secretaries of Neptune High loved lunch time.

“I’m not sure who’s doing it. We have someone investigating into it, but so far he hasn’t uncovered anything. If the bomb threats don’t stop what should we do?” he paused as the other person spoke on the phone.

“Alright, I’ll keep doing the fire drills, but we have to do something soon.” He said.

Veronica was so stunned she almost forgot to move away from the door. She quickly went back to her spot by the sign out area and pretended she hadn’t heard anything he said. Luckily Clemmons was too preoccupied with his own lunch to see her. She hurried out of there as quickly as possible and called her doctor’s office to reschedule her appointment. Nothing was wrong with the baby, the appointment could be put off until week 27, no big deal.

Veronica spent the remainder of the day trying to figure out who was making the bomb threats. She’d found the website KillemAll.net, but that was her only solid clue until she was making her way to her car after school and overheard a conversation between Norris Clayton and the new kid, Ben. 

She’d known Norris a long time he used to bully kids in middle school, but she also remembered a nicer sweeter time when he’d stood up for her in the few months she was ridiculed. 

The good news was she didn’t need anyone standing up for her, but she did think their conversation was weird. Talk about guns, hanging out, and uncomfortable.   
She knew it was a hunch when Ben left, but she had the intuition to follow him. She got into her LeBaron and followed him as he stopped at the Camelot a seedy hotel she’d only driven past a few times before. Now she sat in it’s parking lot taking pictures of Ben on her camera. When Ben left so did she and she followed him to a nursery to get fertilizer. Suddenly her phone rang jarring her out of her sleuthing.

“Ronnie where are you?” Logan’s voice came over the speaker.

“Out.” She said trying to take a picture and talk on the phone all at once.

“When are you coming home?” he asked annoyed that she was being so vague.

Veronica sighed and put down her camera. “Why do you care? You’ve barely spoken to me.”

She heard him copy her sigh and she knew that they were drawing the white flag. 

“I’m sorry I just...it’s a lot right now, you know.”

“It’s a lot for me too, Logan and I’m pregnant. Listen if you want to just have some space let me know. I’m not trying to be clingy I just want to make sure you’re ok. I worry about you.” she said quietly drawing an invisible pattern on the steering wheel. She’d all, but forgotten about Ben.

“I know and I’m sorry. I promise I’ll let you know next time when I need some time, but—“

“What are you doing?” Veronica shrieked when Ben opened the door. She dropped her phone immediately and stared at the gun pointed on her.

“Veronica?” Logan yelled anxiously.

“Drive.” Ben commanded the gun still on her.

Veronica shakily started the car and began to drive where he told her. She realized they were going back the way they came.

“Where are we going?” she asked loudly hoping Logan was still on the line.

“You followed me there you should know.” Ben said tersely.

“The Camelot?” she said in the same loud tone.

“I’ll give you this Veronica, I didn’t think you were very good at investigating. I guess I’ll be eating my own words now. People talk about you, you know. The pregnant teen detective. I just thought they were exaggerating, I’m a bit impressed though.” He said making her park the car and leading her up the stairs of the Camelot.

“You know my dad’s the Sheriff and my boyfriend’s going through a lot right now and if you didn’t notice I have a bun in the oven. They get really worried when I don’t come home right after school.” She said wincing as he dragged her along.

“Just shut up I have to think.” He said angrily his grip tightened on her arm.

She let out a high pitched laugh the adrenaline pumping through her system as fear filled her. She was scared not just for her, she was a second thought, but for the baby and Logan going mental when he found out and for her dad who’s already lost so much. 

She could feel her eyes tearing up as what she thought to be her final moments approached and then suddenly Ben’s hands weren’t on her anymore and he was being punched out by Logan. 

Logan who’d despite everything had come to her rescue. She saw something fall out of Ben’s pocket and she bent down to grab it. As she came back up she felt a bit dizzy and held the railing for support. 

“Logan.” She said blinking to try to focus her vision. She held up the ATF badge right as she stumbled forward and fainted. If Logan’s reflexes weren’t so good she’d have hit the floor, but luckily he caught her like he always did and always would.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m so sorry. I love you so much. I’m so sorry, Ronnie. I’ve been acting like an ass. If anything happens…I’m so sorry.” A voice kept repeating over and over.  
Veronica came to in a white room with a monitor beeping beside her and the voice mumbling in her eat. She was smart enough to realize she was back in the hospital and that Logan was the mumbler. 

Who else would tell her he loved her. 

Wait! HE LOVED HER?!?!?! 

Her eyes snapped open and she looked over at Logan whose face was less than a foot from her face. When her blue eyes met his deep chocolate ones he launched himself at her and hugged her as close as possible to him. She closed her eyes breathing in his comforting scent and she felt safe, warm, and cherished for the first time in awhile. She didn’t even realize tears had gathered in her eyes, damn hormones. 

“Veronica.” He mumbled into her neck and she realized he was crying too. She could feel the wetness on her shoulder and she pulled him even closer.

“I was so scared. I thought…I thought God! I thought everything. Every bad scenario rushed through my head and I’ve never been so afraid.” He mumbled into her neck.

“I know. What happened?” She whispered burying her head in his own chest and enjoying the closeness that had been missing in the last few weeks.

“You fainted. It was scarier than anything even after the whole Ben trying to shoot you thing although that was pretty awful. What was up with that? He’s a policeman?” Logan asked confused.

Veronica sighed against him, “I don’t know, but we can talk about it later. Is the baby ok? Am I ok?” she asked worriedly.

“Yeah you were dehydrated.” He said kissing her neck gently. They fell into silence each relishing the other’s comfort.

“I love you.” he said again making her pull away to look at him fully in the face. He wanted to look her in the eye when he told her. “When I heard that guy on the phone and then you fainted I thought…God, I thought I’ll never get to tell her I love her and I do Veronica I love you so much and I know my actions have been shitty, but I do. I love you.” he said staring into her cerulean eyes.

She smiled lovingly back at him and leaned forward to kiss him missing the feel of his lips on hers. The kiss was sweet and long and everything that they both felt for the other. She missed this, the way he kissed her long, hot, and sweet. She missed the feeling of his tongue caressing hers and of the playful nibbles. She just missed him if she got down to it and that’s when she knew.

“I love you too.” She mumbled against his lips enjoying the warmth that spread through her at the words. She wasn’t just telling him because he said it, she realized that she did really love him. She couldn’t be without him, the fighting constantly showed her that and no matter how afraid she was of giving Logan her heart she knew that he would take great care of it. After all he loved her too.


	36. The Question

Chapter 36 The Question

“So when are you going to do it?” Veronica asked eagerly as she picked at her salad with limited enthusiasm. Since her fainting spell Logan and her dad had been on her about her diet and her fluid intake. She had only been home a few days since the hospital incident, but both Logan and her dad were hovering over her like she was incapable of doing anything for herself. They were both doing amazing impersonations of helicopters and it was driving her insane. Thankfully on this Sunday afternoon Logan was out surfing with Dick and her dad was visiting Lynn to see how she was doing. Veronica was having some much-needed best friend time with both Wallace and Mac.

“What are you doing?” Wallace asked munching on his own lunch and looking over at Mac who turned a delicate shade of pink.

“Nothing.” Mac said quickly and Wallace shot her a look of curiosity.

“V, what’s Mac doing?” Wallace asked again. He didn’t want to be left out of the loop especially because he felt like he had been lately because of Basketball and Georgia taking up a majority of his time. He was happy to be hanging out with his two closest friends at Neptune. It would be better if Logan was there to balance out the testosterone, but he didn’t mind hanging out with the girls.

“Something embarrassing.” Mac mumbled looking down at her veggie burger.

Veronica grinned evilly and then winced placing a hand on her stomach. 

“Ow.” She mumbled massaging the area where the baby had kicked. The baby’s leg movements had been getting more and more frequent and as much as she enjoyed it, it wasn’t ideal when she was trying to relax. 

She stood up slowly and steadied herself against the table before making her way to the bathroom. When she was gone Mac turned to Wallace with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

“I’m asking out Dick so that Logan, Veronica, and I can double date.” She said quietly.

Wallace frowned. “Why did you have to wait until she went to the bathroom to tell me that?” he asked confused.

“Because I’m only doing it for Veronica.” Mac explained patiently.

Wallace’s frown deepened trying to understand Mac’s logic.

“You’re doing this for Veronica?” Wallace asked.

Mac nodded quickly. “Yeah because her and Logan have been having trouble and everything else they’ve had to deal with. I figure a night out would be just what she needs and for some reason she has it stuck in her mind that I like Dick.” She said scrunching her face up at the thought.

Wallace smiled slowly catching on to what was actually going on. “Well…don’t you?” he asked watching as her face turned even more sour.

“Ew! No! I do not!” Mac protested angrily.

Wallace’s smile widened. “But I saw you guys dancing at the Eclipse dance and at the party—“

“I don’t like Dick. He’s…Dick.” Mac said shaking her head.

“Really? Are you sure?” Wallace asked a hint of teasing entangling in his tone.

Mac shot him a look, “Yes I’m quite sure. I’m doing this for Veronica.” She said again.

Wallace opened his mouth to respond when the tiny pregnant blonde returned rubbing her enlarged stomach.

“The baby keeps kicking me.” She whined coming to sit back down with them.

Mac smiled, “Already bothering you from the womb. Does he kick often?”

“No, just when I’m really not in the mood for it.” 

“Can I feel?” Wallace asked eagerly.

Veronica nodded and placed his hand on the area where the slowly developing feet were concentrated on. Wallace grinned as he felt the tiny movements.

“Cool!” He exclaimed moving away and taking another bite of his hamburger.

“I can’t believe you’re already at 27 weeks.” Mac said taking her turn to touch Veronica’s stomach.

“I can’t believe I’m already so big. It’s like I got big over night. There’s still so much to do too.” She mumbled as she ran a hand through her blonde hair. 

“It’ll all work out.” Mac said quietly.

Veronica rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair trying to get comfortable. “That’s what everyone keeps saying, but I don’t think so. Things don’t just work themselves out.” She muttered.

“Veronica—“ Mac began, but was cut off by a swift shake of the teen detective’s head.

“No more baby talk. Let’s talk about you asking—“ 

“Veronica—“ Mac said loudly cutting her off.

“What’s she done now?” Logan asked coming into the small apartment in his swim trunks and a towel around his neck. 

“Nothing! I’m innocent until proven guilty.” Veronica said throwing her hands in the air in a surrender position. 

Logan chuckled and came further into the house plopping down in the empty seat beside her and giving her a long kiss on the lips. When he pulled apart while ignoring the obviously uncomfortable looks on their friends’ faces he leaned down and kissed her bump gently.

“I missed you.” He whispered in her ear.

She blushed despite herself and leaned forward to give him another kiss. Finally Wallace made a disgusted sound and Logan leaned back in his chair reluctantly pulling away from Veronica. He put an arm around her though not wanting to go too long without touching her.

“How was surfing?” Veronica asked leaning in to him.

“The waves were good.” He said vaguely.

“Dude what are you talking about! The waves were killer.” Dick said inviting himself into Veronica’s apartment. 

Logan shot Veronica a shrug and she glared back not liking that he didn’t ask first if Dick could come over. It didn’t matter though Dick being here propelled her plan further to get Dick and Mac together. She didn’t fully understand why she was doing it other than the fact that she saw the spark between them. Maybe it was because she wanted everyone to be as happy as she was with Logan. Or maybe it was because she thought Mac could do Dick some good and vice versa. Maybe Dick could bring Mac out of her shell and Dick could learn something from Mac. Regardless of the reasons she saw the chemistry between them and wanted to help her friend out. Even if she didn’t fully like Dick she could see her friend did even if she wouldn’t admit it.

“Dick.” Veronica greeted.

“What up, Ronnie!” Dick said coming to sit in the last seat beside Mac.

“Hey Mac, Wallace.” Dick greeted with a nod.

Mac nodded back her tongue too tied to say anything else.

“So…Dick…how are you?” Veronica asked looking over at Dick with sudden interest.

Dick frowned confused about her sudden change in demeanor. “Uh…Great! We caught some awesome waves!” he said excitedly.

Veronica looked over at Logan who was watching her closely confused by her sudden interest in Dick’s wellbeing.

“What are you doing this weekend?” she asked.

Dick frowned. “It’s Sunday the weekend’s over.” He said in a ‘duh’ voice.

“I mean next Friday.” Veronica clarified. 

Dick shrugged. “Probably going to a party, but cool has come up. Why?” Dick asked looking between Logan and Veronica.

Veronica shrugged innocently. “Just curious.” She said then aiming a pointed look over at Mac who glared back at her.

Dick frowned feeling left out of something. “Ok, whatever.” He said leaning back in the chair.

An awkward silence took over the apartment as the teens sat at the table. 

“Ok, well this is fun, but I think I’m going to go.” Wallace said crumpling up his trash and throwing it away before getting up. He said his goodbyes and then he left the apartment leaving the four teenagers to stare at each other.

“What are you guys doing this weekend?” Dick asked breaking the silence.

Logan looked over at Veronica with a raised eyebrow and she smiled widely. 

“Nothing, actually. You know what would be a good idea.” She said looking again at Mac who sat silently in her seat.

“What?” Dick asked curiously.

“Yes, sugarpuss, what?” Logan asked propping his chin up on his hand and looking over at her with wide mocking eyes.

“You know…” she trailed off staring at Mac across from her. She began to tilt her head to Dick and Mac turned at even brighter red than she already was.

“You know, Veronica I think pregnancy has made you a bit crazy. What are you doing with your head?” Dick asked oblivious.

Logan stiffed a chuckle and smirked at Veronica who was beginning to look mad.

“Uh…Fine, whatever. Be that way. I’m going to take a nap.” She snapped getting out of her seat and making her way to her bedroom.

The three watched her go before Logan sighed and rolled his eyes. “I guess I’ll go check on her.” He said as if it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do. 

With Veronica and Logan in her bedroom Mac let out a slow breath and looked over at Dick who she was shocked to find staring at her.

“Hi.” She said shifting in her seat.

“Hey.” He said nodding again.

“What up?” he asked his eyebrow cocked.

She smirked slightly reminding herself that this was Dick and Dick was not scary. Hot yes, scary no.

“You asked that already.” She said.

He shrugged as if that didn’t matter. “Maybe something changed in the last few minutes.” 

“It didn’t.”

“Oh.”

Silence engulfed them and Mac wondered why they were still sitting there when they should probably get up and leave.

“Do you want a ride home?” Dick asked.

Mac shook her head, “No I drove.”

“Oh, ok.”

The quiet took over again and they could hear Veronica and Logan talking from the other room.

“So I was wondering—“

“Would you like to—“

They both said in unison. Mac made a gesture to go ahead, but Dick shook his head and made his own gesture for her to go.

“No you go.” Dick said.

Mac shook her head, “No seriously, you go.” She said.

Dick shifted uncomfortably, “Well, uh—“

Suddenly the door opened and Keith came in. He looked surprised to see the two of them in his house.

“Dick, what are you doing here? And…I’m sorry I don’t know your name.” Keith said looking at Mac apologetically.

“I’m a friend of Veronica’s Mac—er Cindy Mackenzie…sir.” Mac stuttered out anxiously. She never had to deal with the Sheriff so up until now she had no idea how intimidating he actually was.

Keith smiled, “Veronica and Logan are here I take it?” he asked.

“In the back.” Dick said with a nod. He never understood why people were afraid of Keith, he was a cool dude. Veronica in his opinion was much scarier especially while pregnant.

They watched as Keith headed in the back and then Mac turned to him.

“What were you going to say?” she asked.

“Oh! Uh well we should probably go.” Dick said standing up.

“Oh yeah, probably.” She said feeling annoyed and put down that, that had been what he was going to say. She swore that there was something else, but obviously Dick only had friendly feelings towards her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So did you ask him yet?” Veronica asked at lunch the next day.

Mac shook her head.

“Veronica give it a rest if she doesn’t want to ask him she doesn’t have to.” Logan said eating his pizza.

Veronica glared at him. “I am not talking to you. I am still angry at you for getting me a salad instead of pizza. You do not have a vote in this.” She said pointing a finger at him.

He smirked and leaned forward to kiss her pointed finger. “The salad is full of vitamins and shit. I’m taking care of you.” He said looking up at her through his bright brown eyes.

She huffed feeling her stomach flip flop like it always did when their eyes connected. “If you really cared about me I would get some pizza too.” She muttered looking back at Mac. 

She continued to question Mac not noticing that Logan had sneakily put two pieces of pizza on her plate. She grinned when she finally looked down to the two delectable pieces, but when she looked over to thank her boyfriend he was gone.

Later that day as Mac was finishing putting her stuff in her locker Dick came strolling up with a grin.

“Hey Mac.” He said leaning casually against her locker.

“Dick.” She greeted shoving the last spiral notebook in her bag.

“So I was thinking…Friday you, me, Ronnie, and L…dinner maybe a movie?” he asked with a cocky smile.

She felt her mouth drop open at what he’d said and the longer she stayed quiet the more his cocky attitude dropped away and nervousness showed on his face.

“I mean it can just be us hanging out. No dinner or a movie. I mean maybe dinner or a movie, but not like a date. More like a chill session between two guys and two girls. No pressure Mac.” He said as she watched in amusement as he stuttered his way towards an explanation.

“That would be nice.” She said finally making his face break out into a huge smile.

“Ok. Great. It’s a date. Or not a date. Whatever.”

“A date please.” She whispered so quietly he almost didn’t hear it.

His grin widened and he went to move away, but her voice brought him back.

“Did Veronica put you up to this?” she asked assuming the pesky blonde had stopped hounding her so she could begin to work on him. 

Dick frowned, “no, why would Veronica do that?” 

“Then why are you asking me out?”

He shrugged, “Well I wanted to ask you out, but I just…Logan gave me the idea of a double date that way if you said no it wouldn’t be a big deal we could just all hang out. Plus Logan’s about to be a dad dude, he has to have as much fun as he can before he’s even more strapped down to Veronica.” He said shaking his head slightly at the fact his friend was going to be a parent.

“So you wanted to ask me out?” Mac asked feeling dazed.

Dick grinned, “duh, dude. You’re like…we totally connected at the dance. I like talking to you. You make me laugh. Most girls don’t do that.” 

She nodded feeling overwhelmed by the information. 

“Sweet so I’ll see you Friday. Veronica’s place.” He said before winking at her and taking off down the hall.

Mac watching him go for a minute before smiling widely to herself and taking out her cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts and pressed ‘Veronica.’

“Did you do it?” Veronica answered.

“No.” She paused for a moment her heart still pounding over what had just happened.

“Then—“

“He asked me.”

“What?”

“Logan gave him the idea of a double date.” Mac said quickly as she hurried towards her car.

“Logan gave him the idea…” Veronica mumbled before there was scuffling in the background and a masculine voice shouted ‘ow.’

“That’s great Mac!” Veronica said happily 

“I know I was totally amazed. He actually wanted to ask me out.”

“Of course he did. You’re awesome.”

“Thanks, Bond!” Mac said grinning from ear to ear as she started her car.

“Now all I have to do is find something to wear.” She said and as she drove home they discussed their plans. Mac couldn’t remember being so giddy since she got her newest computer technology. She just couldn’t wait for Friday to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica padded into the living room her flannel oversized shirt stretched over her pregnancy belly and the matching pants hanging off of her. She crawled onto the couch beside Logan and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you. That was nice what you did.” she said quietly her eyes on the TV, but her mind was focused on Logan and how his arm naturally wrapped around her and how perfectly she fit beside him. She snuggled into his side and wrapped her own arms around her middle.

“I don’t do nice things. I’m the bad boy, remember.” He said taking his eyes off the TV to kiss her on the forehead.

“Of course, Lo, you’re such a bad boy.” She said smiling softly. She closed her eyes listening to his breathing. 

“Better believe it.” He said leaning forward to kiss her on the lips.

“When does your mom get released?” she asked drawing patterns on his leg.

“Not for awhile yet. She’s still pretty weak.” He said looking down at her.

Veronica nodded, “We still gotta finish the nursery.”

“We have time, Ronnie. Like three months.” He said moving to lie down on the couch and pulling her with him. Now a days since she was so big she was generally most of the ways on top of him when they lay on the couch, but neither of them minded. Immediately as she got situated on top of Logan her eyes closed and she fell quickly into dream world. Once Logan knew she was asleep he kissed her on the top of her head and smiled slightly.

“You’re welcome.” He muttered before turning the TV off and picking her up to take her to bed. As he was tucking her in Keith walked by the room and smiled at the sight of the teenager tucking in Veronica. He turned his head knowing that Logan was going to crawl in beside her. He of course knew all along they’d been sharing a bed, but sometimes a father had to live in the land of denial so he let the teenagers sleep knowing soon enough they’d barely have any.


	37. The Double Date

Chapter 37 The Double Date

Veronica finished putting her hair up before going over to her bed and staring down at the variety of maternity clothes she could wear. Since they weren’t doing anything except going to see a movie and having dinner she wanted to wear something comfortable, but nice at the same time. She tapped her finger against her chin in deliberation trying to decide between maternity jeans and a nice top or a dress. Her phone rang jarring her from her decision.

“Hello?” she said going to her closest and thumbing through the various maternity blouses she had.

“Veronica, I can’t go.” Mac said nervously into the phone.

Veronica stopped what she was doing and blinked trying to comprehend what Mac was saying.

“Can’t go…where?” Veronica asked trying to deduce how this was going to pan out.

“Out. I can’t go out.” Mac said.

“Ok…why not?”

There was a long pause before Mac huffed and Veronica swore she could hear her roll her eyes.

“This is going to sound so girly, but…I have nothing to wear.” Mac said.

Veronica burst out laughing. “Mac, don’t worry about it. Just pick something cute and get over here.”

“But I have nothing to wear.”

“I don’t either thanks to the baby growing inside my belly.” Veronica said in a clipped tone as she stared at a blouse that would’ve looked great on her if it had been a few months ago.

“Yeah, but your boyfriend cares about you. Dick and I are just…” Mac trailed off trying to find something to say what Dick and her were doing. What were they doing? Did he like her? Was this a game? Would tonight be a complete disaster?

Veronica plopped down unsteadily on the bed and leaned back. “Listen Mac, just pick something and come over. Dick is Dick. He’s not scary and if he doesn’t like your outfit I’ll tazor him, how about that?” she asked half jokingly and half serious.

Mac gnawed on her lips debating the issue. “Well ok, but you don’t get to tazor him because I’m doing it, ok?” Mac rambled.

Veronica smiled, “deal now get over here.” She said before hanging up and looking down at her own wardrobe. 

She sighed and picked a dark printed halter dress that came down to her knees. She picked a pair of strappy sandals and donned some simple jewelry before walking into the living room to find her dad and Logan playing video games.

She frowned not entirely comprehending what she was seeing. She watched her usually very cop like father whoop with glee when he won the racing game Logan and he were playing. Her father stood up and embarrassingly began to dance his winning dance around the room. Veronica stared at him appalled as Logan laughed and threw up his hands in a surrender position.

“I won!” Keith said when he saw Veronica and happily made a fist in the air.

Veronica ducked her head feeling embarrassed. “Oh my God.” She mumbled putting a hand to her forehead to cover the rapidly growing red on her face.

Logan laughed at her humiliation and Veronica shook her head looking back and forth between her father and her boyfriend.

“I can’t believe you’re letting my father play video games.” Veronica mumbled when Logan finally stopped laughing.

“We’re bonding, honey.” Keith exclaimed.

Logan nodded vehemently before he stood up and came to stand in front of her. He was still a little squeamish to kiss around her father so he planted a kiss on her forehead before hugging her body to him. She rolled her eyes playfully and looked over at her dad who was watching them.

“Where are you guys going tonight?” Keith asked leaning back into the couch as the video game music filled the background.

“A new Mexican restaurant Dick wants to try and then a movie.” Logan said.

“The only reason I agreed to go was because they have really good tacos and there are vegetarian options for Mac.” 

“Of course. What movie are you going to see?” Keith asked curiously.

“We didn’t really decide.” Veronica said looking up at Logan.

“By that she means we couldn’t decide. We all want to see something else. Ronnie wants to see some foreign movie about dogs or something. Mac wants to see the latest romantic comedy since it’s supposed to have great reviews. Dick wants to see the new action movie staring…” Logan paused clearing his throat uncomfortably. 

“Anyway I want to see the new Friday the 13th movie. So yeah we couldn’t decide.” He said.

There was a slightly pause before Keith nodded. “Well have fun and remember to be home by one at the latest.” He said as the doorbell rang.

Veronica detached herself from Logan’s arms and went to get the door surprised to see Dick on the other side. She had thought Mac would be here before Dick and they’d be waiting around forever for him. Dick had a tendency to take a long time to get ready, similarly to Logan. Veronica had a secret theory that boys spent more time on their looks than girls did.

“Dick.” Veronica muttered in greeting as Logan and he did a bro handshake.

“What’s shakin’, Ronnie?” Dick said looking down at her.

“Is Mac here yet?” he asked fidgeting as he held a bouquet of daisies in one hand. Veronica raised an eyebrow at the flowers and looked over at Logan who had noticed them too.

“Flowers, Dick? Who knew you were such a gentlemen.” Logan said smirking at Dick whose face turned a starling shade of crimson.

“I’m trying to make a good impression and Madison said that bringing flowers to a girl is the best way into a girl’s heart…and pants.” Dick recited squinting his eyes in memory.

Veronica stared at him not knowing what to say while Logan and Keith stifled a chuckle.

“I wouldn’t bring Madison up to Mac or trying to get into her pants.” Veronica advised as the doorbell rang again.

Veronica moved to open the door and Mac stood there looking shy and pretty in a simple midnight blue summer dress. She smiled at her friend and then moved to the side so Dick would greet his date.

“Woaw dude! You look smoking!” Dick exclaimed before thrusting the daisies into Mac’s face.

She smiled timidly and took them with a breathy ‘thanks.’ 

Veronica looked over at Logan who was watching the entire seen with amusement. She elbowed him in the ribs and glared.

“Why don’t you get me flowers?” she hissed lowly to her boyfriend.

He looked at her incredulously. “I’ve gotten you flowers before.” He said annoyed and amused by her sudden demand of flowers.

“Not for a long time! Not since our first date.” She said narrowing her eyes at him.

Logan chuckled despite the fury in her eyes and he kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Bouquet next time we go out, check.” He said going to wrap his arms around her waist. 

She moved out of the way with quickness that even surprised her with the extra girth she was caring around. She crossed her arms around her chest and glared at him.

“I don’t want you to plan to give me flowers. Now I sound like the nagging bitch girlfriend who always wants something. I’m turning into Madison.” Veronica said going from feeling angry to depressed. 

She knew she was being hormonal and completely mental, but she was also pregnant and everything seemed to set her off. She went from being sad to happy to angry to depressed. She just couldn’t stay on one emotion. She had figured it would go away after the first trimester, but it only seemed to get worse. It hadn’t been bad in the weeks after the whole Aaron incident, but mostly because she was concentrating on Logan. Now that everything was back to normal or at least as much as it could get in Neptune she fell back into her basket case type ways.

Logan looked at her for a moment not knowing what to say. He had gotten used to her being so moody and hormonal, but now that there were other people around he couldn’t do what he normally did to detract from her episodes. He couldn’t just push her up against the wall and have his dirty way with her, instead he was going to have to talk her down. He much more preferred to indulge in sin with her rather than to sweet talk her into a better mood.

“Alright, dear, whatever you say.” He placated. He looked over at Dick who was telling Mac a surfing story. Then he looked over at Keith who was getting ready to play another video game. He was thankful no one had noticed Veronica’s up and down emotions. He took a tentative step towards her and she relaxed before taking a step forward to let him wrap his arms around her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She whispered.

Logan smiled into her hair and shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with you, sugarpuss.” He said kissing her again on her forehead before taking her hand.

“Come on, let’s go to dinner.” He said looking over at Dick and Mac who nodded.

Veronica kissed her father ‘goodbye’ and then they all climbed into Dick’s car. Mac and Dick sat in the front and Veronica and Logan sat in the back. It was quiet until   
Dick turned on the car and bass thumping rap came blaring through the speakers.

Veronica winced at the loud music, but Dick didn’t turn it off instead opting to drive through Neptune as if they were in a rap video. Not much talking went on in the car since no one could hear anyone, but once they were seated at the restaurant Veronica almost wished there still was base thumping rap still on. It was an awkward atmosphere. Logan and her usually joked around and bantered with each other, but she wanted to include Mac and Dick in the conversation so that was out. She didn’t really talk to Dick so she had no idea what to even say to him and Mac looked as if she was going to throw up. She cleared her throat taking on the duty to break the awkward silence.

“So…” she began looking at Logan with a tilt of her head.

He smirked and leaned back in his chair throwing his arm around Veronica’s shoulders as he did so.

“How’s everyone doing?” Logan finished knowing she wanted some help with getting the conversation going.

“Good.” Mac said nodding and shifting awkwardly in her seat.

“Awesome, man.” Dick said copying her nod.

The silence quickly took over again and Veronica excused herself to use the bathroom for the second time that night. When she left Dick looked over at Logan curiously.

“Dude, what were you guys arguing about when Mac got to Ronnie’s?” Dick asked leaning forward in his chair.

Logan smiled despite himself and continued playing with his utensils.

“Ronnie’s been extra hormonal lately. I think she’s just under a lot of pressure with the baby coming and everything.” He said vaguely.

“I have noticed she has been getting angry at a lot of things that don’t make sense. When we were doing our English homework a few days ago she went on an angry tirade about our teacher, but then she got really depressed.” Mac mused.

“Yeah she’s a spitfire alright.” Logan said smiling to himself.

“How do you deal with it?” Dick demanded to know. He couldn’t understand why Logan would subject himself to Veronica.

Logan shrugged, “I just do.” 

“When Madison and I were together she used to be angry all the time too, but she wasn’t pregnant or hormonal. I think she was just a bitch.” Dick said thoughtfully.

Logan laughed, “Dude you got that right.” He said as Veronica slid back into her seat.

“What’s so funny?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, sugarpuss.” Logan said putting his arm back around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him in the booth. 

“So…what do people generally talk about on double dates?” Mac asked awkwardly.

“I don’t know.” Veronica said honestly.

“But you, Logan, Lilly, and Duncan went out all the time. What did you guys usually talk about?” Dick asked looking between them.

Veronica and Logan looked over at each other. Their minds flashed back to the simple times of the Fab Four hanging out all together all the time. It was strange now that it was only himself and Veronica. He didn’t mind it, but sometimes he longed for the days that it was the Fab Four. Things were simpler, although he’d never give up what he had with Veronica. He loved her and wouldn’t trade her for the world. 

“We hung out all of the time. We were best friends.” Logan said quietly.

“Dude, I know that, but what did you guys do? Or talk about?” Dick asked not realizing he was probably bringing up territory that neither wanted to discuss.

“So Mac, how do you think you did on that English essay? What topic did you chose?” Veronica asked quickly changing the subject. She had no desire to talk about the Fab Four. Tonight was about getting Mac and Dick together and enjoying time with Logan before the baby comes.

“I did the first topic about Shakespeare. I think I did ok though.” Mac said understanding what Veronica was up to.

The rest of dinner wasn’t necessarily an awkward affair, but it wasn’t what Veronica had wanted. She wondered if she had been expecting too much. In her mind she had figured it would be like the times when it was Lilly, Duncan, Logan, and her. Now it was so much different. 

She enjoyed her time with the three of them although more so with Logan and Mac than Dick, but it wasn’t as easy as it used to be. Lilly and her could sit and talk for hours and Duncan and Logan always got along. Mac and her had a lot in common, but she was still getting to know the brunette and Dick and her never got along.   
For a moment as they ate dessert and Logan, Dick, and Mac talked about a new video game Veronica wondered what it would be like if there had been the Fab Four again. She knew she’d still be with Duncan and Lilly would be with Logan, but she craved the comfortableness they had. If the dinner had been the Fab Four Lilly would’ve rolled her eyes at the video game talk and demanded they talk about something else. 

On the other hand Veronica wouldn’t give up what she had with Logan for anything. She loved him and even though she loved Lilly too she needed Logan more. When Lilly died she didn’t think she could go on, but in the aftermath of all the stuff with Aaron and the sex tapes and everything else that had happened this year she knew she couldn’t lose Logan. When he was acting like he had been she was afraid that would happen, that she’d lose him and she couldn’t survive that. It would be even worse than when Lilly died and she’s barely survived that.

Veronica reached over and squeezed his thigh gently. He turned from listening to Mac talk about Halo to look over at Veronica. He gave her a gentle kiss and moved her closer to him in the booth. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes briefly taking the moment in. Yes, she definitely wouldn’t give this up for anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They decided to skip the movie and instead go to the beach. At first Veronica and Logan were hesitant, but then Dick and Mac convinced them to go. They parked at Dog Beach and the two couples went their separate ways both wanting to enjoy the alone time with their partner. Dick and Mac wandered a ways down the beach both silent as they listened to the crashing waves. Mac’s arms delicately swung by her side occasionally touching Dick’s muscular arms. 

“I had fun tonight.” Mac said breaking the silence.

“Yeah? Me too. We should do it again.” Dick said.

“Really?” she asked surprised.

Dick nodded not hearing the surprise in her tone.

“Why?” she asked when he didn’t respond.

He stopped walking and turned to look at her. “Why not? I like you.”

“But why?” she asked again not fully comprehending why he liked her.

Dick frowned, “Because you’re cool. Didn’t we go over this already?” he asked referring to the conversation they had when he asked her out.

“I just mean that you’re Dick Casablancas. You can have anyone and yet you chose me so I want to know why? Is this like a game or something? Do you need a   
distraction after Madison?” Mac asked wanting to know why Dick was suddenly so into her.

He looked at her a slow frown forming on his face. “Should I not like you? Am I not allowed to or something?”

She looked away feeling like he was mocking her.

“Listen Mac, I know we’re different. I know that, but when we hung out at the dance and then the party it was fun and I enjoyed talking to you. I know I’m probably not   
your ideal guy, but I like you and I want to see where this goes. So if you don’t like me I’d really appreciate you to tell me now so I can get over whatever crush I have   
on you.” He said his voice a mixture between annoyance and hurt.

She looked at him not knowing what to say. Then she shook her head. “I want to see where this goes too.” She said finally.

He smiled. “Sweet, dude, because I do too.” He paused and licked his lips.

“Can I kiss you now?” he asked taking a step forward.

She blushed and nodded her tongue was not working properly. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her glossed lips. He pulled back and looked at her his   
eyes searching hers as if asking permission to go on. She gave a slight nod and he pressed another kiss to her lips this time a little harder. She smiled when he pulled   
away and this time she leaned in and kissed him. They took turns kissing each other lightly until Dick moved back and gave her an apologetic look.

“Dude, I’m not rushing you or anything, but I do need a minute.” He said gesturing to his pants.

She blushed a pretty pink and nodded before sitting on the sand. He sat beside her and took her hand gently in his.

“So does this mean we can go out again? Maybe without Veronica and Logan’s weirdness.” He said looking at her.

She nodded with a laugh. “Definitely. When I thought of going out with Veronica and Logan I figured it would be fun, but…I don’t know it’s like going out with an old married couple.” She mused.

Dick laughed and leaned in once more for a kiss. “They are definitely an old married couple.” He agreed. They laughed together and then listened to the waves crash against the beach smiles on both of their faces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across the beach Logan sat with his legs on either side of Veronica as she leaned against him. His hands rested gently on her stomach and hers rested on top of his. Neither of them spoke instead opting to watch the waves.

“Did you have fun tonight?” Logan asked drawing patterns on her stomach.

She sighed and shifted against him. “I did. I just…I just wish things could be different.” She said quietly.

“Different how?” he asked curiously.

“Lilly…” she trailed off resting her head against his shoulder. She heard his sharp intake of breath and wondered if bringing this up was such a good idea. It had only been six months since she’d died and everything was still so crazy. She wished she had her best fined with her it would be easier to get through everything. As happy as she is with her life now having Lilly by her side would make everything even better.

“Do you think we’d be together if Lilly were still alive?” Logan asked looking down at her.

Veronica stiffened her earlier thoughts coming back. “I wouldn’t be pregnant.” She said quietly.

“But do you think we’d be together?” he asked again.

“I don’t know. I want to say yes, but I was so…I don’t think I’d be able to betray Lilly like that.” she admitted scooting forward so she could look behind her at him.

Logan regarded her before touching her face gently. “I think we would be.” He said smiling slightly.

She gazed at him with such love and hope that he felt his heart swell. He looked back at her just as intensely and Veronica felt her heart beat faster at the devotion in   
his eyes.

“Really?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Definitely. I told you I knew it was done between Lilly and I…besides I’ve always had a crush on you Veronica Mars.” He said ducking his head and looking at her bump because he couldn’t look into her eyes.

She smiled and blushed ducking her own head. “Really?” she asked again her voice breathy and high.

“Oh yeah. I told you on Homecoming those knee socks and that soccer uniform really got to me.” He said giving her a lecherous smile.

She rolled her eyes and went to move back to her spot against his back, but his hands swung up and touched her shoulders stopping her.

“Seriously though. I did like you. When I laid eyes on you…I don’t know, but for weeks after that I wanted to get to know you and when we went over to the Kane’s I   
wanted to talk to you. Then that night, remember that night, when we played Seven Minutes in Heaven at Lilly’s fourteenth birthday party?” he said reminding her of the night she’d lost her kissing virginity.

She blushed at the memory and nodded. “You and I got hustled into the closest for seven minutes and you told me it was ok that we didn’t have to kiss, but I really wanted to.” She said looking out at the water. “I thought you didn’t want to kiss me so I didn’t push it.” She added after a few minutes.

“No I did, but Duncan had told me a few days earlier he really liked you.” Logan said regretfully.

“And Lilly had told me she really liked you too. She felt bad knowing I also liked you, but she wanted us to be sisters so she kept pawning me off to Duncan.” Veronica   
remembered lost in her thirteen year old brain.

“But then I kissed you because I wasn’t sure if we’d ever have another chance.” He said grinning as he finished off the story.

“I felt guilty for weeks after that and then when Lilly called me one day to tell me that you and her had finally hooked up I felt like I was going to be sick.” Veronica said with a sigh.

“You started going out with Duncan like six months later.” 

“Yeah because Lilly kept pushing me on him and I figured why not. I mean I liked Duncan, but… I guess after awhile I kind of forgot what I liked. I got lost to the normalcy of Duncan while you and Lilly went off to be crazy. Besides Lilly kept telling me we’d never work out, we were too different.” Veronica said regretfully.

“I think we would’ve gotten together if Lilly had never…” Logan trailed off.

“Maybe we would have, but I guess we’ll never know.” She said her eyes meeting Logan’s.

He smiled sadly and leaned down to kiss her. She forgot everything while his lips were on hers and she melted in to the kiss. Once they parted in need of air she leaned back against him and his arms wrapped around her. 

“When we get home I’m going to fuck you so good. I’d do it here, but I don’t want to scar Mac.” Logan whispered in her ear.

Veronica burst out laughing and leaned up to kiss him again. “Let’s do it in your banana I’m feeling extra loud tonight.” She teased.

“Good idea. I think your dad’s finally starting to like me.” 

“The Xterra then.” She said before standing up and looking down at Logan. He laughed at the eager expression on her face.

“You Eager Beaver.” He said smirking up at her.

“Oh yeah. I have to teach you a lesson for not bringing me flowers.” She said tsking him. 

He laughed and stood up as he reached for his cell phone. 

“Yo! Dick! Let’s go. Veronica’s in labor.” Logan joked. He closed his phone and looked down at his pregnant girlfriend. She struggled to keep a stern look on her face, but the gleam in her eyes gave her away.

“That’s not very nice.” She chided.

“You have plans with my banana. There is no nice.” Logan said as he looked down the beach to see Dick and Mac hurrying towards them their hands clasped together.   
Veronica and Logan shared a look and burst out laughing before sharing a kiss and making their way to the car. Operation Double date seemed to be a success.


	38. The Home

Chapter 38 The Home

“Come in!” Ms. James’ voice filtered through the door and Veronica bit her lip to keep from rolling her eyes at the perky counselor’s voice.

She pushed the door open and walked into Ms. James’ office feeling a little ill at the prospect of talking about the past year.

“Veronica! Hi!” Ms. James said smiling pleasantly at the teenager.

Veronica gave her a stiff smile back and slide into the seat across from the brunette counselor. 

“Ms. James.” Veronica greeted fidgeting in her seat to get comfortable. It was getting more and more uncomfortable sitting in the itchy and squished seats in the school. Veronica was just glad that it was mid-March and she only had two and a half more months to go for school. At 29 weeks she felt larger than she had in her entire life. She rested her hands on top of her stomach and gave the guidance counselor a blank look waiting for her to speak.

“How are you doing, Veronica?” she asked leaning forward on her desk and clasped her hands in front of her. She had a ‘I want to talk about you’ face on and Veronica wanted to tell her to shove it up her ass, but she figured that might not be the best way to go about making people believe you were fine. 

Veronica noticed her gaze resting on her stomach and she shifted attempting to make herself look smaller. Fat chance, she thought bitterly.

“I’m fine.” she said leveling her with a look.

Ms. James tore her gaze from her bump and gave her a small smile. “The reason I called you in today was to talk.” She began and Veronica mentally rolled her eyes at the obviousness of her statement.

“You’re pregnant.”

“I’m aware.” Veronica said dryly.

Ms. James chuckled ignoring Veronica’s tone and moving forward.

“And Lilly died.” She added and Veronica huffed.

“I know that too. Listen, if this is like—“

“I asked you in today to discuss how you were doing. We should’ve met right after Lilly, but—” Ms. James began.

“Listen, Ms. James, really I’m fine. Yes it’s been a long year and it’s been difficult, but I’m fine and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Veronica you are a pregnant sixteen year old who just lost her best friend and who was almost killed by her boyfriend’s father. You are not fine. You are grieving, scared, and I want to help you.” Ms. James said trying to get Veronica out of the denial she thought she was in.

“I didn’t lose anything. She died. Aaron killed her and well – yes it’s been a difficult year, but I’m working through it and I have people who I can talk to. So really, Ms. James, I’m fine.” Veronica said before gathering her bag and standing up with only minor difficulty.

“Veronica, please sit down. I want to talk to you about everything that’s going on. Maybe help you understand some of the stuff or work through the issues. You’ve been through a lot.” Ms. James said.

Veronica shook her head and tightening her hold on her bag as if it were a shield. 

“No thanks. I can work through it by myself. I don’t need anyone’s help.” Veronica said before turning to walk away.

“Veronica!” she yelled after her.

Veronica turned and regarded Ms. James with an icy look.

“If you change your mind. I’m here if you need anything.” She said before giving her a small smile.

Veronica nodded and walked out of the office not feeling the least bit sorry for her behavior. She didn’t want to talk about the past year with a stranger. She didn’t want help. Granted Logan was helping her and so was her father, but it was different. She could work through this by herself. She was strong and didn’t need some nosy guidance counselor asking her questions.

She understood Ms. James was just doing her job, but Veronica didn’t want to talk to her about anything that had happened since October. Maybe she wasn’t ready for it or maybe she just didn’t want to rehash the past whatever it was she just didn’t want to deal with it. She was living in the here and now and wanted the past to remain just that.

She hurried across the school to her locker just as the bell rang. She sighed annoyed she’d missed all of fifth period. She got her books out before going out to the quad to eat lunch. She was surprised to find Wallace and Logan already seated at the table having a discussion about sports. She sat down beside Logan and gave him a quick peck before opening her lunch and pulling out various items she’d packed that morning. She kept offering to pack Logan’s lunch, but he preferred spending money on takeout. 

“Why were you called down to the office?” Logan asked waving the Chinese food takeout guy over to their table.

“Ms. James wanted to talk.” Veronica said vaguely staring down her sandwich.

“About what?” Wallace asked curiously.

Veronica sighed and looked over at Logan. 

“She—“ Veronica began, but was cut off by Mac who came over to the table looking nervous.

“What’s wrong with you?” Veronica asked curiously seeing Mac’s anxious expression.

Mac shook her head and shifted uncomfortably. “Have you seen Dick today?” She asked digging into the mystery meat.

“No. How was the date Friday night?” Wallace asked watching Mac stare down at her food.

“It was great, but...” Mac said forlornly.

“But what? What’s wrong?” Wallace asked looking between Mac’s downtrodden expression and Veronica’s.

Mac opened her mouth to respond when Dick sat at the last seat at their table. 

“Hey.” Dick said grabbing an egg roll from Logan’s take out.

Logan glared at him, but didn’t say anything instead choosing to stuff the remaining egg roll in his mouth in case anyone else got any ideas.  
Mac on the other hand gave him a look somewhere between extremely happy and extremely nervous.

“Hi.” Mac said quietly.

Veronica frowned looking back and forth between them. “Dick.” She greeted taking a bite of her sandwich and watching the nervous looks Mac was giving Dick and the fidgety ones Dick was giving Mac.

“Can I talk to you?” Dick asked finally blurted out.

She nodded and they left the table to go talk quietly near the edge of the quad.

“I thought their date went well.” Wallace said confused.

Veronica shrugged, “It did. She’s probably nervous. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Nope.” Logan said popping the ‘p.’ 

All three of them turned to watch Mac and Dick curious to see how the next chapter would play out.

On the edge of the quad Mac and Dick sat down at a vacant table and proceeded to stare anywhere, but at each other.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you this weekend.” Dick said clearing his throat uncomfortably.

“I didn’t expect you to.” She said trying to sound nonchalant.

“But I wanted to. I just got caught up in stuff, but I did have fun, dude. I think we should go out this weekend. I mean, like if you’re free.” He said.

Mac looked at him in surprise. “Ok. I mean – are you sure?” 

Dick smiled largely and took her hand. “Definitely dude.” 

Mac grinned back at him. “Yeah ok. I mean if you want, I’m ok with it. How about it’s just the two of us this time?” she suggested.

Dick grinned and nodded. “How about we see a movie? There’s that new action one coming out.”

Mac’s smile grew strained, but she nodded despite the fact she had no interest in seeing the new action movie. She thought action movies were stupid. They all had the same plot and were too loud with too many loud explosions that didn’t make sense.

“Or I could kick your ass at a Halo marathon.” She suggested the words spilling out before she could stop them.

Dick’s smile widened. “You’re on. My house. Seven on Friday and I will be kicking your ass.”

She laughed, “You’re on.” She said gleefully before nudging him with her shoulder.

Dick grinned and leaned down to capture her lips in his own. He didn’t care about what the other 09ers would say. He didn’t care about anyone’s reaction or how they were going to be gossiped about. All he wanted to do was kiss Mac again and everything else just faded away.

Back at the lunch table Veronica let out a little gasp and turned to Logan who smiled.

“I guess we aren’t going to be the gossip of the school anymore.” Logan murmured.

“Bummer.” Veronica said sarcastically. She smiled despite herself and mentally patted herself on the back for being such a good matchmaker. 

“I still wanna know what happened Friday? And we should go out all six of us this time.” Wallace suggested turning away from Mac and Dick who were now getting catcalls from various parts of the Quad.

“Nothing happened Friday, but we should have a triple date. That would be fun!” Veronica said excitedly. She let out a low huff and placed her hand on her belly. Without comment Logan put his hand where hers was and they smiled at each other as they felt the baby.

“I feel like we’re in a high school lifetime movie.” Wallace muttered watching them.

“You aren’t the only one.” Logan agreed kissing Veronica hard on the lips before they went back to their meals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica was eating her second bowl of ice cream and getting her feet rubbed by Logan as they watched South Park. It had just been the two of them for dinner. Her dad had called earlier to tell her that he wouldn’t be home until later so they had left him a plate in the stove. Just as it reached commercial break Keith came through the door looking tired and worn. He sat down on the vacant chair and Logan wordlessly got him the leftovers. Keith took it gratefully and began to watch South Park until it ended. Once it had he turned to Veronica and Logan with a melancholy expression.

“I have to talk to the two of you.” Keith said quietly.

Veronica and Logan exchanged a look and braced themselves for the worst.

“Alright the first thing is, Lynn is getting out of the hospital next week. Logan I’m sure you know that, but we’re going to have to figure out what to do next. I know we already agreed that the guest bedroom was going to be a nursery, but Logan I’m sure you’re going to move back home.” Keith began rubbing a hand across his bald head.

Veronica’s breath hitched at the knowledge of Logan leaving her. She had almost forgotten that he was going to have to go home soon. She hated herself a little bit for relying on him so entirely, but the thought of not waking up beside him every morning bothered her more than she would ever admit.

“Lynn and I talked and she hired someone to help her around the house until she felt one hundred percent again. He’s also a physical therapist so she can do her exercises at home. Mrs. Navarro is also going to be helping out.” Keith continued looking between the two of them to gauge their reactions.

“I figured that it would probably be easier to just have one nursery in one location so I’m going to leave it up to the two of you to figure out if you want the kid to be here fulltime or at Logan’s. Either way it’s going to be difficult. Logan you are more than welcome to stay here as long as you sleep on the couch and Veronica you can sleep at Logan’s as long as you sleep in a separate bedroom. You two are adults now so you can decide.” Keith leaned back and his gaze rested on Logan.

“The second thing we have to talk about is…Logan…Aaron…well Aaron’s arraignment is going to be in about a month or two. We’re still not sure. First we’re going to need you both for the trial and second…Logan, Aaron wants to see you.” Keith said delicately.

Logan looked immediately at Veronica and her hold on his hand tightened.

“I’m sorry, son. His lawyers keep bugging me to ask you and I tried to—“

“It’s ok, Sheriff. I’ll…I’ll see him.” Logan said quietly looking down at the carpet.

Keith sighed and nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want to think about it?” 

Logan looked up at Keith and then at Veronica. “Yeah. I’ll meet with him.” He said quietly.

“If you’re sure.” Keith said getting out of the seat. He walked over to the couple and kissed Veronica on her head and then patted Logan’s shoulder. “I’ll let his lawyers now. Think about what I said too. We need to start getting everything in order.” He said before bidding them goodnight and wandering off to bed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes both mulling over Keith’s words.

“We should stay at your house.” Veronica said eventually.

“No. Let’s stay here. I like it here.” Logan said shifting her into his lap.

She shook her head. “You’re mom needs help and my dad is rarely here.” “But I like it here. It’s cozier and just…” Logan trailed off not wanting to admit how at home he felt in her apartment.

“But what about your mom? Besides there’s more room at your place.” 

“What about your dad? And there’s plenty of room here.” 

“There’s one bathroom and the walls are paper thin.”

“But it’s home.” He blurted out making her increasingly frustrated expression melt.

She stared up at him seeing right through him as easily as he saw right through her.

“Ok.” She said finally.

“Ok, what?” he asked.

“Ok we can stay here if you want, but you should stay at your mom’s during the week.”

“What about taking care of you and the baby?”

“You can do that on the weekend.” She said smiling slightly.

“What about during the week? What happens then?” he asked scowling.

“I’ll turn into a pumpkin of course and the baby will have to forge for berries.” She said rolling her eyes. “I’ll be fine during the week.” She added.

He shook his head so quickly the words hadn’t even left her mouth. “No.” he said sharply.

“No?” 

“No. Babies are a lot of work. I’m not just going to let you do this by yourself. I said we’d this together and we are.”

“Fine! Then what do you suggest?”

The question effectively silenced Logan as he contemplated the issue. “Maybe I can stay with you during the week and then we can go visit my mom? I don’t know. I just don’t want to leave you alone with the baby. I don’t want to miss anything.” He said looking down at their joined hands and playing with her fingers.

“Maybe we should stay with your mom. Just until she’s better?” Veronica suggested. 

Logan was silent as he thought about what she said.

“Or maybe you should go stay with your mom.” Veronica whispered.

His head shot up to look at her. “Trying to get rid of me?” he half joked.

She shook her head vehemently. She didn’t want him to go, but she knew Lynn was going to need help. She didn’t want to be selfish, but she also didn’t want him to leave either. 

“No.” she said looking away from him. “I just…I don’t want to make you chose between me and your mom. She’s going to need help healing and I’m…I’m just pregnant. Maybe you should go home and then I’ll stay here and then when the baby comes we can take turns staying over each week or weekend or whatever we decide.” She said not wanting to look at him. 

She felt him stiffen against her and she knew she’d said the wrong thing. “Right. Whatever.” He said dropping her hands, shuffling her to the side, and getting off the couch. 

“Logan, I’m not trying to upset you. I just think that we have to look at the bigger picture here.”

Logan regarded her with chocolate blazing eyes and she felt her heart pace quicken.

“Let’s just talk about this later.” He said turning away and going into her room. She sat on the couch for a moment before deciding he needed some time to cool off. 

She turned the TV on and felt tears spring to her eyes at the commercial that was on. It was the one about saving the animals with the sad song by the artist Sarah whatever her last name was and the sweet puppies with their big super sad puppy eyes. The tears rolled down her face and she bit her lip to keep the sobs in, whether it was from the puppies, the conversation with Logan, or the entire day’s ups and downs. She had given up trying to figure out why she was crying when her entire existence was ruled by hormones at the current time. She sat on the couch and cried before going to get another bowl of ice cream to feel better. 

Logan found her sleeping on the couch a few hours later. He had disappeared into her room wanting to distance himself and try to put everything in perspective. He wanted to talk to Veronica about visiting his dad, but she never followed him into the bedroom. So after hours of giving her space he decided to go talk to her.

He smiled at the image of her passed out of the couch her legs propped up on the back of the couch and the bowl of ice-cream resting on her belly. Her mouth was open and she was snoring slightly, but to Logan she was the most beautiful girl ever. She was it for him even at sixteen he knew that.   
He put the bowl in the sink and lifted her in his arms to carry her to bed. Once her head hit her pillow her eyes opened and she smiled at the sight of Logan.

“I’m sorry.” She rasped half asleep.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not you…it’s just…You are my home, Veronica. You have to know that by now.” He whispered leaning down to kiss her gently on the lips.

She smiled sleepily and pulled him down onto the mattress. She curled herself around him and nuzzled his neck. 

“I love you.” she whispered before falling back to sleep.

Logan smiled to himself as he closed his eyes and held her in his arms. Suddenly he jerked back to consciousness when the sound of his phone went off.

He opened it without thinking wanting to shut it up before Veronica woke up.

“What?” he snapped into the phone.

“Little brother, is that anyway to greet your beloved older sister.” Trina slurred into the phone.

Logan’s body went ridged at the sound of Trina’s voice.


	39. The Visit

Chapter 39 The Visit

Veronica sat on the bed nervously biting her bottom lip. She had already reorganized her closest, sifted through baby catalogs, and vetoed and re-chose themes for the nursery. They already picked the colors, but she wanted a theme too. She’d also thought over what her father had said the night before about where to live.   
It was now almost three in the morning and Logan still wasn’t back yet. She’d tried calling his cell, but he had left it on the bedside table either on purpose or because he forgot.

She had awoken around one to find him gone. She wasn’t sure how long he had been gone for, but she did know she didn’t like it. She tried going back to sleep, but the knowledge that he wasn’t beside her and instead out in the world prohibited her from going back to dreamland.

Instead she did everything she could think of while waiting for him. Now as the early morning approached she was going out of her mind with worry. She couldn’t figure out why he would up and leave without waking her up to tell her or even leave a note. She was scared for him and Veronica didn’t like that. She didn’t know when it had happened, but she had turned into one of those needy girls. She didn’t know if it was because she was pregnant and hormonal or just because she was growing too dependant on Logan. Either way she didn’t like it.

She heard the door open quietly and her body tensed anticipating his arrival. She listened to socked feet shuffling across the carpeted apartment and then the bedroom door opened. Veronica looked up to see Logan’s back to her as he quietly shut the door and then turned to her surprised to see she was awake. 

“Where have you been?” she asked trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, but she could still hear the underlining anger and worry. That annoyed her. She schooled her face to be one of aloofness, but inside she knew it wouldn’t fool him. He always saw right through her.

“Wow, Veronica, you already have the disappointed angry mom voice down to a T. I’m impressed.” He said deflecting her question.

“Logan, where have you been?” she asked again shifting around on the bed as he walked across the room and started to undress. His back remained to her the entire way and she knew he was just as scared of her seeing through his act as she was of him seeing through hers.

“And it just keeps getting better and better.” He said sarcastically.

“Logan…” she said disapproval coloring her tone. 

“It’s none of your business, Veronica.” He snapped before dropping his head into his hands and letting out a long sigh.

Veronica got off the bed and walked to him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed a tender kiss to his shoulder before resting her chin on his shoulder.

“I was just – I woke up and you weren’t here.” She whispered into his skin.

She felt him stiffen and she ran her nails up and down his arms wanting to offer him comfort even if he didn’t realize he needed it.

“Trina called.” He said reluctantly.

Veronica’s hands stilled for a moment and then resumed their path up and down his arms. 

“What did she want?” she asked kissing the back of his neck.

“She’s back in town.” He said heavily and leaned into her soothing touch.

“What does she want?” she asked rephrasing the question.

“What else does she want? Attention. Money. Fame. Money. And what’s that – Oh yes! More money.” He said bitterly.

“Is that where you were?” She asked feeling guilty now for jumping down his throat.

“She was drunk. I had to go get her from one of boyfriends’ houses and then I had to let her in since we changed the locks. Then I had to listen to her rant about how Dad didn’t do anything wrong and was being framed.” He said choking on the last part of his explanation.

“I’m sorry.” She said not knowing whether she was apologizing to him for her behavior when he first arrived home or for what he had to put up with from his sister.

He shrugged and moved out of her grasp before taking his pants off and sliding into bed. She quickly got in and cuddled as best as she could into him. It took awhile for them to fall back to sleep, but when they did it seemed they’d only slept a little while before the alarm went off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had a doctor’s appointment the next morning so instead of going to school they got ready to stop by and check on Trina. Checking on Trina was more Veronica’s suggestion than Logan’s concern for his attention-seeking sister. Their plan for the day was to stop by the mansion and check on Trina, go to the Dr. appointment, visit Lynn, and then go baby shopping. 

The baby shopping was more Keith’s idea than Veronica or Logan’s. At breakfast that morning he brought up again the living situation and both of them knew that something had to be done soon about it. Shopping made them seem like they were doing something about it, but not actually choosing a place to stay. At least not yet. After thinking about it the day before, despite what had happened at the Echoll’s mansion Veronica thought it would be easier to raise the baby there. Logan on the other hand wanted to stay at the apartment. 

“I’ll be at the office if either or you need me. Say hi to Lynn and my grandson.” Keith said kissing Veronica on the head. He grabbed his to go cup of coffee and then walked to the door. “And Logan, if you’re still sure I’ll tell the lawyers.” He said hesitantly.

Logan nodded, “I’m sure.” He said sullenly.

Keith nodded and bid his ‘goodbye’ before leaving them. The teenage couple finished their meal and then left to go stop by to see how Trina was doing. When they walked into the house Veronica felt a little uncomfortable at how sterile and empty everything seemed. Maybe it was because of what had happened there or maybe it was because no one was staying in the house, but there was something off about it.

“I never noticed how cold your house was.” She said rubbing her hand up and down her arms.

Logan shot her a look that she couldn’t decipher and then continued upstairs. Veronica took in the pictures of Aaron on the walls and the décor Lynn had done to each room. For some reason walking through the house after knowing what had happened gave her a different view on it. 

“Any wannabe actresses around here? I need a really stupid woman who’s so hungover she’s not even awake at 9 on a Wednesday.” He said obnoxiously loud as he led the way into whatever room he’d deposited Trina into the night before. 

“Triiiiinnnnnaaaa.” Logan yelled knowing that would annoy the hell out of his sister.

“Where aaaaarre you?” he added finally coming to stand in front of a door. He knocked once before pushing it open. He wasn’t surprised to find the room pitch black and went over to the windows to slide the drapes open so sunlight filtered through the room.

A passed out Trina was in the bed a sleep mask over her eyes. Veronica watched as Logan went over to her and snapped the sleep mask against her face making her yell in shock. Veronica threw him a disapproving look and he chuckled in response.

“What the fuck, baby bro!” Trina snarled slapping him in the ear.

Logan’s grin widened and he hoped off the bed happy that he’d woken her up in such a delightful manner.

“We came to check on you.” Logan said watching as Trina threw her sleep mask off. Her hair was wild and bed ridden. It was shorter than when she had left a few months before to do some TV show in Europe. It was now just below her ears. Her eyes were bloodshot and narrowed in annoyance. She looked closer to thirty rather than a newly turned twenty-two year old.

“Whose ‘we’?” Trina asked and then her eyes landed on Veronica and the roundness of her stomach.

“Holy shit, Veronica! How are you?” Trina asked her voice going from annoyance to astonished in only five seconds flat.

“I’m good.” Veronica said quietly rubbing her stomach. 

“You’re pregnant.” Trina asked her eyes trained on her stomach.

“What a keen observer you are.” Logan said sardonically before gesturing to him and Veronica.

“We stopped by to tell you that you have the house to yourself until mom gets home next week. Try not to destroy anything or invite your soul-sucking boyfriends over.” Logan said watching his sister look between him and Veronica.

“Am I missing something? Are you two like a thing?” she asked wiggling her eyebrows.

Veronica looked over at Logan not knowing how to answer the question. Logan shrugged not wanting to answer the question.   
Trina smirked.

“So how did Lilly and Duncan take you two cheating on them with each other?” Trina asked cutting right to the chase.

Logan clenched his fists and opened his mouth to retort, but he felt a gentle tugging on his arm. 

“Logan? We should go, doctor’s appointment.” Veronica said taking him by the arm and leading him away.

“Drive safe you two!” Trina called out. 

Logan turned back to say something to his sister, but Veronica continued to drag him along.

“She’s such a bitch.” He mumbled.

“Come on, we’re going to be late.” She said knowing how toxic Trina could be. She just wanted to get Logan out of there as quickly as possible so he wouldn’t have to deal with his wayward sister. God knew, she hated dealing with Trina. Even when it was only a few years ago and the Fab Four always hung out, Trina being there was always a damper. Veronica had always felt uncomfortable around her as if she were waiting for Trina to screw her over. Veronica had also witnessed the constant fights Logan and Trina always got into and she knew if she didn’t cut it off soon it would turn nasty within seconds. 

They made it to the doctor’s ten minutes before their appointment. They sat in the waiting room and while Veronica flipped through a magazine Logan looked around taking in the other pregnant women. He noticed the odd tension in the room however and that didn’t sit well with him.

“I can’t believe I’m going to get bigger.” She mumbled setting down a pregnancy magazine.

“Hm.” Logan said watching as two women sat whispering to each other and periodically looking over at them. He looked to the other side of the waiting room and noticed the same thing. Then he looked to where the receptionist was sitting and noticed her eyes darting between him and Veronica.

“Is it just be or is everyone talking about us?” he asked looking down at her with anger in his eyes.

Veronica shrugged. Her eyes were trained on her stomach as she contemplated how she could possibly gain more weight. She already felt like a balloon. 

“You’re being paranoid.” She said waving it off and then she finally looked up. Her eyes landed on the two women Logan was still staring at and at the receptionist who she noticed was flipping through a magazine. Veronica would bet anything that it was the People with Aaron on the front.

“Para—“ he began, but was cut off by Veronica getting out of the chair and walking towards the two women whispering.

“Excuse me do you mind talking a little louder so we can all hear what nasty things you’re saying about my boyfriend and I. You wouldn’t want to be rude, right?” Veronica snapped looking at the two women.

The women stared at her astounded and then turned away as if trying to block her out.

“I’m talking to you, ladies. I think you owe us an apology.” Veronica demanded.

“How can you be with the son of a murder?” one of them finally said looking Veronica straight in the eye.

Veronica stared down at her masking her surprise at the woman’s bluntness. “How can you—“ 

Logan stood up hastily and took her arm pulling her away.

“Veronica—“ he began.

“No Logan! All of these people are talking about us as if we can’t hear them and I’m sick of the gossip! I don’t want to read about our family in the magazines and papers anymore. People need to mind their own business.” She yelled making the patients in the waiting room all stare at her. She crossed her arms and glared back waiting for someone to say anything.

“Veronica Mars.” A chirpy nurse asked poking her head into the waiting room.

Veronica turned on her heel and walked away, Logan followed her.

The doctor’s appointment was normal. The doctor just went over the facts and what to expect in the last two or so months. They went over the weight gain, the edible foods she could eat, and how important it was to keep her stress down. They also discussed her fluid intake and the doctor reminded her to keep herself hydrated and to always drink water. They got to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, which was both of their favorite sounds and lastly they got to look at the baby and see everything that had developed since the last time they had been there.

When they left the appointment Veronica couldn’t stop grinning at how happy she was. They arrived at the hospital a little after eleven and were surprised to see Lynn looking alert and for the most part happy.

“Good morning!” Lynn chirped gesturing to the two chairs beside her bed. Veronica took one on one side and Logan took the other. 

“How’s my grandson?” Lynn asked excitedly looking at Veronica.

“Kicking a lot and healthy as can be.” She said smiling. She tentatively took Lynn’s hand and squeezed it in a reassuring manner.

“And how are the two of you?” Lynn asked smiling at Veronica and Logan.

“Good.” Logan said leaning back into his seat.

“Trina came home last night.” He added reluctantly.

Lynn let out a long sigh and shook her head. “Have you talked to her about what’s going on?” she asked delicately.

Logan shook his head, “She thinks dad’s innocent.” He said begrudgingly.

“Of course she does.” Lynn mumbled tightening her hold on Veronica’s hand.

“What is she doing now?” Lynn added.

Logan shrugged. “She’s at home. I don’t know how long she’s staying for.” 

“Well have the two of you figured out where you’re going to live?” Lynn asked looking between them obviously trying to change the subject from the train wreck that was Trina.

Veronica and Logan shared a look not knowing what to say since they hadn’t talked about it since the night before.

“Not sure yet.” He said finally.

“Well if I could make a suggestion,” Lynn began. “I think you should live at the house.” She finished and then gave an apologetic look to Veronica. 

“I know you’d rather stay with your father, sweetie, but you can still see him on the weekends. It’s just that the house is bigger, we have Mrs. Navarro, and there would be room for everyone.” Lynn said soothingly.

Veronica bit her lip and looked over at Logan who was watching her. “I actually agree that living in the mansion would be a good idea, but my dad – I mean I can’t just leave him.” She said quietly.

“And I’d rather stay at the apartment.” Logan commented.

Lynn frowned. “Why, honey? I mean I’m sure your apartments nice, Veronica, but—“ 

“I think we have to think about it some more.” Logan interjected not wanting to get into why he felt more comfortable at Veronica’s.

Lynn sighed, “Alright, it is your decision. Keith agrees with me though. He thinks you two should stay in the mansion.” 

“He said that?” Veronica asked surprised.

Lynn nodded. “He agrees that it’s bigger and he won’t be home that much especially with… Anyway you two should think about it.” She said giving them a soft smile.

Veronica looked over at Logan who was looking pensive at the current topic. She knew they couldn’t keep putting this off, but she also knew she didn’t want to choose. How did you choose anyway? She didn’t want to leave her dad by himself, but Logan’s house was more equipped for their situation. She wondered if she could persuade her dad to come stay at the Echolls’, but she knew there was probably no chance in hell he’d agree. She could still try though, she hoped at least. 

They decided to skip the baby shopping for now since they spent so much time at the hospital. Later that day as they left the hospital and stopped for some food Veronica tentatively brought up meeting with Aaron. It had been bugging her since the night before when Keith had told Logan Aaron’s lawyers wanted to meet with him.

“Are you sure about meeting with Aaron?” Veronica inquired delicately as they hate hamburgers and salads. 

Logan shot her a glare and swallowed his mouthful of food. “Do we have to talk about daddy dearest at the dinner table?” he snapped taking another bite.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. She rubbed her hand against her stomach smiling briefly at the light kicks the baby was doing.

“I just thought maybe you’d want to talk about it.” She said quietly.

“Well I don’t.” 

“Fine.” she said running a hand through her hair.

He nodded and continued to eat.

“But if you do, you know I’m here, right.” She added after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah, I know.” He said quietly.

“I know you don’t like to open up, but if you want to talk about it I am here.” She said again to make sure he understood that if he needed help she’d be there. “Just like with all the other stuff.” She added.

He rolled his eyes. “Please Veronica, you’re not so talkative about stuff you don’t want to deal with either. Let’s just deal with everything tomorrow.” He said stuffing the rest of his hamburger in his mouth.

“We can’t continue dealing with everything tomorrow.” She said annoyed.

“For now we can. I think we have a lot to deal with currently anyway. We’re almost done with sophomore year, we’re having a baby, we have to decide where to raise said child, my dad’s in prison, your dad put him there, my mom’s getting out of the hospital, and my bitch of a sister just came home to start the movement of ‘Aaron’s a Saint let him go.’ Oh! And your own mom is somewhere playing ‘Where in the world is Lianne Mars?’.” He said bitterly.

“I was trying to help.” She snapped.

“Well your doing a swell job of it, Veronica.” 

She rolled her eyes and tossed her fork down. “You can be such a jackass sometimes.” She mumbled.

“Too bad you love me.” He mocked.

“Yeah too bad is right.” She said meeting his eyes.

They stared across the table at each other neither wanting to be the first to break.

“So what are you going to tell your dad?” she asked and he let out a low angry laugh.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“That’s what all the boys tell me.” She said smirking.

He stared at her for a long time before dropping some bills on the table. “Let’s go home.” He said standing up and taking her hand.

She got up with his help and made their way to the car. Before they got in Logan stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“I’ll talk about it eventually. Just let me deal with it, ok?” he said looking down at her.

She nodded slowly. “Ok.”

He smiled slightly and leaned down to kiss her. She responded instantly, their lips molded together with need for the other. They parted when air became an issue.

“We’ll figure out the housing situation tomorrow.” He said breathlessly.

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.” He said with a nod and ushered her into the car.


	40. The Promise

Chapter 40 The Promise

Logan tapped a finger on his knee as he waited in the grey room. He sat in the chair and stared at the door on the other side of the room. He wondering if it would ever open and he wished it never would. When he had agreed to meet with his father it seemed like a good idea for the closure, but now that he was actually at the prison and seated in the room waiting for the guards to bring in the murdering psycho, he wanted to escape. 

All morning Veronica had bombarded him with question about whether he actually wanted to do this and Logan kept telling her he was fine. Now that his father was going to come in any minute, however, he felt an odd mixture of dread, anxiety, and anger. He tried to ward off the feelings, by concentrating on counting the tiles on the ceiling, by thinking about what Veronica was going to spend her Saturday doing, and what features the baby was going to get from him and Veronica. Thinking about the baby was a good tactic to calm his anger. He had been using it unbeknownst to anyone for awhile now. 

When people said things in school about him or Veronica, or when Trina really pissed him off now that she was home, he focused on the baby. What the baby would look like, be like, and sound like. He thought whether he was going to look more like him or Veronica. He wondered if he’d have brown or blue eyes or be brunette or blonde. It seemed to calm him down, but not this time as he waited for the cell door to open to produce the aging movie-star he’d called dad for all his life.

He clenched his fists as he heard voices from down the hall and he closed his eyes briefly imaging how Veronica had looked the night before snuggled into his side, before he opened them again just as the door unlocked. Logan raised his head and took a deep breath as his father stepped through the threshold. Logan noted the cuffs on his wrists and repeated the mantra. Aaron wouldn’t be able to hurt him while he was handcuffed. He’d be ok, he’d be ok, Logan thought thinking back to every time his father had beat him.

“Son.” Aaron said and Logan noted he was using his acting father voice.

Logan scowled and leaned back against his chair giving off a faux air of nonchalance.

“Aaron.” Logan greeted smirking when he saw the twitch of acting dad’s mask slip.

Aaron cleared his throat and put his caring dad façade back into place. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Keith said the lawyers kept asking me to come.” 

Aaron scowled at the mention of Keith’s name. “Keith.” He scoffed. “What a poor excuse for a Sheriff.” 

Logan bit his tongue as not to retort.

“I mean how could he think I killed your girlfriend.” Aaron added looking at Logan with pleading eyes. “You know I wouldn’t do that, Logan.”

“Everyone knows you killed Lilly and you almost killed Veronica, whose pregnant if you weren’t aware.” Logan said harshly. He moved his hands to his lap and t  
tightened them into fists. 

“As if it’s yours. She was best-friends with Lilly, I bet she’s just the same. Just another slut.” Aaron said his caring dad act now finally dropped.

“Don’t say that about her.” Logan snarled. His fingernails dug into the palm of his hands and he knew that he’d have marks on him when he left. He didn’t care though all he could feel was the anger rolling through him.

Aaron rolled his eyes and sat back mirroring Logan’s posture, but kept his hands on the table.

“I was only trying to help you son. So I killed your slut of a girlfriend and then tried to kill the woman whose going to hold you back from your full potential. I’m your father and I’m trying to do what’s best for you.” Aaron said haughtily as if Logan was the one in the wrong.

Logan stared at him, “trying to do what’s best for me? How is any of that best for me? Are you really that delusional?” he snapped trying to get a hold of his anger. He came here to find out what his father wanted, not to get into a fight with him.

“Why did you ask me to come?” Logan asked cutting Aaron off before he could speak.

Aaron fixed his face into one of innocence and moved closer to the table. “Logan, please, I need you to testify that I was a good father.” He said making Logan laugh loudly.

“What?” Logan asked incredulously.

“My lawyers say that it doesn’t look good. There are tapes, you know, and Veronica has already agreed to testify against me and so has your mother. There is a lot of evidence piling up. I need someone on my side and I want that person to be you.” Aaron pleaded reaching out a hand.

Logan blinked trying to comprehend his father’s request. Then his eyes narrowed to slits and he moved his chair back wanting to get as far from his father as possible.

“No. Just, no. You were a terrible father. Even if I was held at gunpoint I wouldn’t even lie about how good of a father you were. You made my life hell.” Logan snarled moving to stand up.

But Aaron’s hand grabbed for him and pulled him closer to him. The grip on his wrist was painful, but Logan swore he wouldn’t wince. He didn’t want to give his father the satisfaction.

“Without me you would be nothing, Logan. You say, I was a terrible father, but I gave you money and a roof over your head, you ungrateful brat. I was a great father and when that bitch finally gives birth you’ll end up being just like me. Abuse is in the genes, Logan, don’t ever forget that.” Aaron seethed.

Logan suddenly saw red when his father called Veronica a ‘bitch’, he ripped his wrist from his grip, and punched him straight in the nose. Aaron let out a howl and then lunged across the table at Logan. They fell to the ground and Aaron tried to hit him despite his cuffed wrists. No sooner had they fallen did the guards come in to break up the fight. Logan felt hands pulling him away as he struggled to break their grasp and get one more hit in on his father.

“You’re just like me, Logan! You can’t escape the genes!” Aaron yelled as the other guards took him away. Immediately once his father was gone the fight seemed to deflate from him and he was left feeling empty and cold. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nightfall by the time Logan made it home. After leaving the prison he’d decided to go surfing to clear his mind. When the sun began to set he went for a drive before he went back to the Mars’ residence. Once he got to the apartment he sat in his car before he felt ready enough to go inside.

His father’s words haunted him, but really they had all day. He just wasn’t sure how he was going to face Veronica after the truth was shoved in his face. 

He stood outside the apartment before taking a deep breath and going into the warmth. The TV was on in the apartment and Keith was at the dining room table doing some work. He smiled weakly seeing Veronica curled up on the couch with Backup and a bowl of ice cream. She grinned upon seeing him, but something in his face made her smile vanish. She got off the couch to approach him and took his hand to lead him to the back of the apartment. He was glad because he didn’t feel like being questioned by Keith. Once she led him into her room she pulled him to the bed and made him sit down. When he sat on the mattress she gave him a quick hard kiss on the lips before disappearing for a few minutes and returning with her ice cream and bowl of his own. 

“Here.” She said giving him the bowl. 

He took it and put it in his lap.

“Judging by your face I’m assuming it didn’t go so well.” She said sitting beside him.

He shook his head and took a small bite of ice cream.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

He shook his head and continued to eat the ice cream.

Veronica sighed and watched him. She felt sad for the boy beside her. He was always so tough and thick-skinned, but when he looked like he did now; like a kicked puppy she was reminded of how young he was. How young they both were.

“Logan, I love you.” she said kissing him on the side of his head.

He looked over at her and gave her a ghost of a smile. “I love you too.” 

He gazed at her for a moment before putting their empty ice cream bowls on the desk and curling up beside her on the bed. He caressed her baby bump until he fell asleep his father’s words still haunting him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day they went to the hospital to take Lynn home. Logan was surprised to see Keith already there helping Lynn pack her things up and making sure there were no paparazzi on the floor. 

“Morning you too.” Keith said smiling at them as they walked in.

“Keith, mom.” Logan said going to help his mom finish packing. Veronica followed and with the help of the two of them they were finished pretty quickly. The doctors came in to go over Do’s and Don’ts and then a young Hispanic man came into the room then a grin on his face. 

“Hello, my name is Alfonso.” He said smiling at the four of them and extending his hand for a handshake.

“Alfonso is the physical therapist.” Lynn added for Logan and Veronica’s benefit.

“Let’s go home and get you settled in.” Logan said ignoring the man’s outstretched hand. Veronica through him a disapproving look, but he shrugged and helped his   
mom down to Keith’s cruiser.

They made it home in record time nearly missing most of the paparazzi, of course they couldn’t be lucky enough to miss all of them though since there were about ten or so hanging out outside the house. Keith and Alfonso helped Lynn inside while Veronica and Logan carried her bags. Well Logan did, while Veronica took the lighter things since he didn’t allow her to carry much. Keith went to finish bringing the bags Logan didn’t get. Once everyone was inside and the maids were tending to Lynn’s luggage Lynn asked everyone to sit in the living room for a family meeting.

“Logan? Will you go get Trina?” Lynn asked sitting stiffly on the couch.

Logan made a disgruntled noise and opened his mouth to protest when they heard heels on the staircase.

“Did someone say my name?” Trina asked sauntering into the living room dressed in a short slinky red and black dress and five inch heels.

“Late night at the strip club?” Logan snarked.

Trina rolled her eyes, “A very important lunch date actually.” 

“Trina, can you please sit for a few minutes? This is a family meeting.” Lynn requested.

Trina frowned seeing Keith and another man she didn’t know sitting on the couch. “Then why is Sheriff Mars and some random Mexican guy here? Do we have family I don’t know about? I mean I can excuse Veronica, she’s birthing Logan’s offspring – God help her – but since when do we have Mexican relatives?” Trina mocked.

Lynn sighed. “Trina, this is Alfonso he’s my physical therapist.”

Trina scoffed and rolled her eyes at the good-looking physical therapist.

“And Sheriff Mars is here because he helped me home from the hospital.” Lynn added ignoring Trina’s antics.

“Touching, but I have to go.” Trina said puffing he hair before making her way across the room.

“I’m selling the house.” Lynn announced making her stop in tracks.

Trina whipped around mirroring the surprised looks on everyone else’s faces.

“I already have a potential buyer and I have someone in the market looking up houses for us to move into.” Lynn said looking around at the surprised faces.

“But why?” Trina whined. “This is one of the most sought after houses in the 09 district! Where else would we live?” she added aghast at he concept of living   
somewhere else.

“That’s why I’m sure it’ll sell well and I’m considering buying something in the beachfront area or maybe another house around here. Once my assistant gets back to me with a list we can all go look.” Lynn said trying to be encouraging.

“I want to move before the baby comes.” She added looking over at Veronica who nodded numbly.

“I’m assuming you and Logan will be staying with us, right?” Lynn added making Veronica and Logan squirm under her gaze.

“I think that would be best.” Keith agreed eyeing his daughter.

“But dad I don’t want to leave—“

“You’ll still see me, Veronica. I can come over for dinner or you can come to the apartment. You aren’t loosing me.” Keith said softly patting his daughter on the back.

She looked down at the ground and then over at Logan who hadn’t said anything. 

“What do you think?” she whispered.

Logan shrugged. “As long as we don’t have to live here I don’t care.” He said looking over at Keith.

“You could stay in the pool house.” Logan added knowing it was going to be hard for Veronica to leave her father.

Keith chuckled, “I’m going to stay in the apartment and whenever you guys want to come over be my guest. You know I’m always going to be here for you.” Keith added giving Veronica a comforting smile.

She nodded and gave him a watery smile while cursing her out of control hormones.

“Well if that’s all I’m leaving.” Trina snapped before stomping out of the room and doing just that. Everyone stayed for awhile and helped Lynn get settled in. They ate a late lunch and talked about little things before Logan and Veronica went back to the apartment, and Keith went to start his shift at work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night Veronica and Logan lay in bed together enjoying the solitude. It wasn’t late, nothing terrible was going on, her father wasn’t home yet from work, and they’d eaten a nice quiet dinner. Although that didn’t mean she wasn’t already snacking on a sandwich. 

They hadn’t talked much about the news, or what had happened with Aaron. Even though she wanted to know Veronica was ok with just laying there with Logan enjoying the moment. She felt like these precious moments were ticking time bombs. She wasn’t sure how many of these they would have left so she wanted to savor them. 

She was lying on her back propped up by pillows as he held his ear to her belly and lay stretched out beside her. One hand was on her lower belly and his ear was on the higher part. A small smile danced across his face as the baby kicked him from within Veronica. 

“This is so weird.” Veronica muttered as she ran her hand through Logan’s hair. She smiled to herself as she looked down at him cuddled into her side and listening to their kid kick her. 

“Yeah it is. Who would’ve thought…” he said trailing off and grinning when Marsden moved.

Veronica smiled watching the scene. “Your son is certainly active tonight. You’d think he was getting ready for soccer tryouts out.” She complained lightly. She took another bite of her sandwich and sighed enjoying the odd combination.

“My son? Since when is he just my son?” Logan asked tilting his head up to look at her. 

“Since he won’t let me sleep a full night. I have to pee every five minutes and I have random bouts of insomnia.” She whined.

Logan chuckled and pressed a kiss to her belly before stretching himself up to kiss her on the lips. Their lips melded together in passion making Veronica shiver in delight. She opened her mouth in invitation for him as his tongue prodded the seam of her lips. She nipped gently at his bottom lip and wrapped her free arm around his neck bringing him closer. They broke apart when Logan felt Marsden kick against his abdomen, which was pressed against Veronica’s.

Veronica laughed breaking their kiss and looked down at her belly. 

“Kid’s already cock blocking.” Logan whined with a good-natured grin on his face. Veronica laughed and shook her head before eating the rest of her sandwich. Logan lay back down in his original position.

“Hey can you promise me something?” he asked forcing lightness into his voice.

Veronica nodded without thinking. She looked down at him and he grinned seeing remnants of crumbs on her lips and a bit of sauce on her upper lip. He expanded upward and pressed his lips to hers. He licked the sauce off of her lip and then pressed a soft kiss to them before moving back down.

“What is it?” Veronica asked sensing that whatever he was going to ask her she wouldn’t like.

“I just…” Logan sighed and rolled onto his back while running a hand through his hair.

“If I end up like my dad, do you promise me you’ll leave?” he asked hating himself for how choked up he sounded.

“What? Logan? What’s this about?” she demanded to know. She sat up a little and for once towered over him. 

He closed his eyes briefly before looking up at her. “Just promise me if I ever hit you, or Marsden, or any of our other kids, you’ll leave? Please promise me you’ll go   
and never come back no matter what.” He said staring into her blue eyes.

She sat back not knowing what to say. She had thought they’d gotten over this. Apparently not. “Logan you aren’t your father. You’ve never been anything like him. You won’t end up like him, that is something I’ll promise you. Where is this coming from?” she asked knowing it was from his visit yesterday at the prison. 

“You don’t know that Veronica. Just please promise you’ll leave if I ever raise a hand to you guys.” He said sitting up and looking straight at her.

She gulped staring at him. As their eyes connected she realized how serious he was and how desperately he needed for her to promise him this.

“Logan you aren’t your father. Your caring, sweet, tender, smart, amazing, and – yeah sometimes a jackass, but your mine and I love you.” she said needing him to understand that.

He looked away and opened his mouth to respond, but she beat him to it.

“But if you need me to promise, then yes. I promise I’ll leave if you ever do that. Not that you will.” She added quickly.

He nodded and moved to lay back down. When she didn’t move he sat back up against the wall.

“Where is this coming from?” she asked again.

He looked away and sighed. “You aren’t going to let this go are you?”

“Not a chance.” 

“Fine.”

He paused and she laid back down waiting patiently for him to speak, and he went back to his original position against her belly.

“My visit with my dad was upsetting.” He said drawing patterns across her stomach as she began to run her hand through his hair again.

“Upsetting? How?” 

“It just – he said some things that I didn’t like.” 

“Is that why you got into a fight with him?” she asked without thinking.

He looked up at her and stared into her eyes until he shook his head in disbelief. 

“Your dad tell you?” he asked incredulously.

Veronica looked away sheepishly. “I went to go take dad lunch yesterday while you were gone. One of the guards called.” She said.

He laughed sourly. “Figures.” 

“So kids, huh?” she mumbled latching onto how he had used a plural in his demanded promise.

“Maybe.” He said feeling shy at how he might’ve thought about their future and having more kids.

“Such a girl.” She said with a laugh.

“Someone has to be.”

They laughed until they lapsed back into silence until eventually they fell asleep.


	41. The Box

Chapter 41 The Box

Veronica eyed the numerous boxes in the corner of each room of the house. It was weird to see the boxes scattered around the Echolls’ mansion. Even if she was over there almost all the time trying to help Logan pack, discard, and organize everything it was still odd. She had been over at the house since they had met at 12. She knew that house like the back of her hand. She’d lived in that house, so seeing it packed up and moved was weird. She had never gotten the luxury with her own house since it burned down. 

Now she was experiencing nostalgia and sadness even though so many bad things had happened here. She was glad that they were moving, but it was still sad. It provided the start to something new and Veronica knew Logan was thankful for that. A life without his father, just like she was experiencing her own life without her mother. 

“Do you want this?” Veronica asked gesturing to the box of old toys she’d found in the way back of his closet.

Logan glanced over at it and shrugged. “I guess we could donate them to charity.” He said without paying attention.

“We could also keep some of it for the kid.” She said digging around the box.

Logan looked up from some old tests he was looking at to stare at her. He scoffed and threw the old tests in the waste basket beside him before picking up another   
stack of papers.

“Pass. My kid’s not getting hand-me-downs.” He said with disdain.

“There’s nothing wrong with used toys, especially if you used them. It would be like—“ 

“No, Veronica, just throw them away.” He said giving up on looking through the papers and throwing them away. He got up off the floor and started shoving numerous items into the bag in frustration. She watched before sighing and dragging the box towards the stairs so they could put it in the charity pile. She felt a hand on her back stopping her movement and she stood up. 

“I can do it.” He said nudging her to the side.

“You don’t have to. I’m not made of glass, Logan.” She said irritably. Every time she had tried to help clean or pack he’d pushed her away and did it himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her doing anything he was just nervous the more she pregnant she became. 

His overprotective instincts had kicked in and she was barely allowed to lift paper without him swooping in and grabbing it to carry himself. At school it was ridiculous. He carried everything and walked her to class. He shot nasty glares at anyone looking at them funnily and when Madison made snide remarks about stretch marks and looking like a whale he’d shoot back a snarky reply on her dye job or her lack of a boyfriend. Two subjects she was highly sensitive about.

“Yeah, but your back’s been hurting.” He said carrying the box out of the room. She scowled knowing he was right. He was the one who had been massaging it too.

She stared at his retreating back for a minute before turning to grab some more stuff to pack away. She froze when she saw the Lilly box they had never moved from Logan’s room. She opened the box without thinking and perused through the contents of Lilly. Her mind drifted back to that day they had cleaned her room and she sighed forlornly at the dull ache that accompanied thoughts of Lilly. 

“So, I’m starved I was thinking we could take a break and eat?” Logan suggested coming back into the room.

“Sure.” Veronica choked out surprised by how emotional she was after finding a box.

Logan went over to her and opened his mouth to ask what was the matter when he saw the opened box of Lilly’s things. He closed his mouth and sat beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her body towards him. He kissed her softly on the side of the head and let out a sad sigh.

“I miss her too.” He said softly.

Veronica nodded and bit her lip. She blinked her eyes rapidly to hold back to the tears that threatened to spill.

“I loved her so much. She was such a staple in our lives.” He said and then cleared his throat and stood up.

“I’m going to grab us something to eat. What are you in the mood for?” Logan asked rubbing a soothing hand against her arm.

“I’m not hungry.” She said quietly. 

“Lasagna it is. Are you still eating it with pineapples on top or was that last weeks craving?” he asked.

Veronica smiled slightly. “Pineapples, please.” She requested.

“Pineapples it is.” He said kissing her on the lips before leaving the room. She waited another minute before continuing the packing. She tried not to look at Lilly’s things. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica was surprised when Lynn asked her to come with them to house hunt. It had been a week since she had announced the move and finally the assistant came through with ten houses. Lynn decided Saturday would be the day they went to go explore the options. Lynn had asked Logan and her along with her assistant. Trina invited herself. 

The first three houses Lynn hated on sight. The fourth house she hated the design of the outdoor pool. The fifth and sixth she hated the kitchen even though Logan pointed out that she didn’t cook. Lynn rolled her eyes and didn’t reply. The seventh house was too small. The eighth too big. The ninth didn’t have a pool and the tenth didn’t have a gate. By the end of the afternoon the realtor was sweating, Veronica was hungry, and Logan was making nasty comments. 

“There is one more house that was just put onto the market yesterday.” The realtor said shifty eyed.

Lynn made a motion for her to continue and they began talking as Veronica rubbed her stomach and frowned.

“Why didn’t you pack more snacks?” she whined glaring at Logan.

“I didn’t think it would be this hard.” He said watching his mom and the realtor argue.

“Way to look out for your pregnant girlfriend.” Trina said smirking at the two.

Logan glared at her, “Back off, Trina. I’m not in the mood to deal with your attempts at insults.”

“Attempts? I thought I hit a mark there. Your angry skyrocketed like I’d insulted Lilly.” Trina said smirking.

Veronica frowned and looked back and forth between them. Trina looking smug knowing she’d hit her mark and Logan seething.

“Fuck—“ he began, but was interrupted by Lynn and the realtor coming over with strained smiles.

“We’re going to one more.” Lynn said giving them an apologetic look.

“Fine.” Logan bit out his eyes still trained on Trina’s smirking face.

“Veronica’s hungry. Would it be ok if her and me missed this last one? We don’t want her passing out on us do we?” Trina said wrapping her hand around Veronica’s arm. Veronica scowled and yanked her arm away before throwing Logan a look of angry.

“No…” Lynn said confused looking between the three of them.

“Great then! Veronica and I will be on our way we’ll meet you at home.” She said ignoring Veronica’s smack of her hands before finally getting hold of a body part and pulling her along.

“Wait!” Veronica said trying to get out of Trina’s hold.

“No, she’s right we don’t want a repeat of the dehydration incident.” Logan said scowling at how right his sister was, but feeling apologetic that he hadn’t thought of the idea first. He was the father he should be paying more attention to her needs.

Veronica glowered at him the entire way out of the house and he knew he was going to get an earful when they met back up at the house.

Trina cheerfully grabbed Veronica out of the house and towards her car. They had taken two cars just for this purpose and Trina took a minute to congratulate herself for thinking ahead.

“So what do you want?” Trina asked looking over at Veronica with excitement.

Veronica’s scowl deepened and she wrapped her arms around herself. “What’s the deal Trina? Why did you just drag me out here?” she demanded to know.

Trina rolled her eyes and sat back. “You were always too smart for your own good.” She mumbled.

Veronica smiled and waited for her to go on.

“Fine! Ok! I came in here to talk to you.” Trina said heaving a sigh and turning to start the car.

“Wait! Let’s just stay here.” Veronica said feeling unsure about going anywhere with Trina.

Trina frowned, “Veronica! Come on! You’re pregnant and hungry. I wasn’t bullshitting we should get something to eat. I’m not dealing with a passed out pregnant girl.” She said rolling her eyes dramatically.

Veronica nodded reluctantly. “Fine. Just go to the closest restaurant.” She said watching as Trina clumsily started the car and drove away from the house towards the yuppie restaurant area of Neptune.

“What do you want to talk about?” Veronica asked wanting her to get back to the subject at hand so she didn’t have to spend anymore time with Trina than she had to.

“It’s about Logan.”

“What about Logan?”

“Just…I mean you haven’t noticed?” Trina asked shooting her nervous looks.

Veronica gritted her teeth and crossed her arms across her chest. “Trina I’m hungry and pregnant and not in the mood for your games so talk if you’re going to talk or don’t if you’re going to screw me around.” She snapped.

Trina sighed dramatically. “It’s just I’m worried about him and you and just your situation.”

“What about it?”

“How exactly did it happen?” Trina asked curiously.

Veronica smirked. “You mean Lynn didn’t give you the birds and the bees speech?” Veronica asked grinning when she saw Trina huff and scowl.

“No! I mean was it just a pity fuck after Lilly?” Trina asked bluntly.

Veronica’s smile slide off her face and she glared. “What?” 

“Did he fuck you after Lilly? You know a pity fuck or a grief fuck.” She said watching the road, but occasionally turning to Veronica.

“That’s none of your business, Trina.” Veronica said roughly.

“All I’m saying is that the other day I caught him staring at a picture of Lilly and I had to wonder if he’s really over her, you know? Like are you just the stand in since you guys were so close. I mean, is he only with you for convenience sake?” Trina said her eyes itching to look over at Veronica to see her expression.

Veronica bit her lip and looked out the window. She told herself that Trina was just being Trina and causing trouble. She told herself that Logan and her had talked about this already. Everything was finished between him and Lilly before she even died when he wrote that note. She trusted Logan, but Lilly had been his first love. Logan had been in love with Lilly. Logan missed Lilly. But Lilly had also slept with his father. Would that be enough for him to change his mind about Lilly? Was she really just the stand in? Did Logan see Lilly when they were together? Was Logan still in love with Lilly? 

Veronica shook her head and turned back to reality and a smirking Trina.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Veronica said lowly.

“Whatever you say, Veronica.” Trina said pulling into a parking lot. 

Veronica refused to talk to Trina the rest of the afternoon, but she also couldn’t stop obsessing over what Trina had said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night as Veronica got ready for bed in her apartment her phone rang. Since Lynn had gotten out of the hospital Logan had gone back to living in the mansion and Veronica had decided to stay at the apartment so she could spend time with her dad before she left to go live with the Echolls’. They had been spending their nights apart for almost a week and Veronica still had a hard time falling asleep. But she knew it wasn’t permanent. They also called one another before bed so they could fall asleep talking. She knew it was him calling, like he had been all day.

After her conversation with Trina, then lunch Veronica had hurried back to her apartment not wanting to spend any more time with Trina. She had sent Logan a quick text explaining how she went home and she’d talk to him later. She knew he’d texted and called her since, but she’d stayed away from her phone and refused to look at it. She was too afraid or saying something she’d regret or over reacting. 

As much as she didn’t want to believe Trina she knew she had a point. She knew they had talked about Lilly and that she was fine for the most part about the whole thing, but Trina’s words brought back a lot of insecurities that she’d tried to ignore. Now she couldn’t even pretend to ignore them, they were there and they were making her scared about her relationship with Logan. 

She had spent a long time trying to figure everything out and up until now she had never been so scared to just be with Logan. Logan made her feel things she’d never even dreamed possible. He was amazing and even when they had their fights he was her rock and she loved him. They fact that she loved him and even told him was amazing since she’d spent so much time being afraid of their relationship and waiting for him to leave. Now that Trina brought all the old insecurities up it was more difficult to squash down the fear at being with him. Now that she told him she loved him he was very capable of breaking her heart.

Her phone continued to ring as she stared at it from across the room. Finally when he called a third time she turned the phone completely off. She couldn’t deal with any of it tonight so she got into bed and tried to sleep. But all she wanted was Logan and his arms around her protecting her. She screwed her eyes up and tried not to let the tears fall, but after fighting holding them back she let go. If only for a little bit before her walls went back into place.


	42. The Sister

Chapter 42 The Sister

Veronica hadn’t been able to sleep most of the night so she got up before sunrise and decided to take Backup for a walk. She hadn’t been doing as much exercise as her doctor had told her to do, but she made a mental note to start more since she was 30 weeks by this point. She also wanted to start since it was such a stress reliever. Since she hadn’t been able to sleep the night before and Trina’s words had haunted her the walk with Backup was much needed.

By the time she got back around eight she was unsurprised to see Logan waiting at her door. She had been ignoring his calls after all and it was only a matter of time before he came looking for her.

“Why haven’t you been picking up my calls?” he demanded to know as she came closer to her apartment.

She sighed and tucked some stray pieces from her ponytail behind her ear. “Can you at least wait to yell at me until we get inside? I’m starving and to fully argue with you I need sustenance.” She snapped pulling her keys out to open the door.

“Oh I’m sorry, as the worried boyfriend I’ve only been trying to reach you all night long. My mistake for caring.” he snarked walking into her apartment once she opened the door.

“Back off, Logan.” She snarled going to the fridge to get food. On her way there she put some food into Backup’s bowl and filled it with water.

“I’m sorry you had to spend time with Trina yesterday, is that why you’re so angry at me? What was I supposed to do? Let my mom go by herself to the next house and follow you and Trina. She had a point you were hungry and I mean, I didn’t want to repeat the dehyd—“ he began rambling trying to make her understand why he hadn’t stopped Trina from taking her.

“This isn’t about Trina, Logan! This isn’t about me having to spend time with your bitch sister.” She yelled over him.

He glared at her and watched as she went through the contents of food before settling on Lucky Charms cereal and milk.

“Shouldn’t you be eating something healthier?” he asked angrily.

She scowled into her cereal and took an obnoxiously large bite making him copy her scowl.

“Do you know what’s in Lucky Charms?” he asked watching her take another large bite.

“Sugar and Gelatin.”

“Cleaning fluid ingredients.” He said smirking when he saw her pause mid-bite.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?”

They glared at each other willing the other one to snap. Suddenly Keith interrupted them as he walked into the room whistling a merry tune. 

“Good morning.” He chirped noticing the tension, but ignoring it.

“Veronica, Logan, try not to kill each other. I have some work I have to do, but dinner tonight? Tacos, Veronica?” Keith said putting his coat on and watching the two glower at each other.

“You bet, Pops.” Veronica said without moving her gaze from Logan.

“Great, Logan you want to join?”

“He can’t. He’s too busy being a jackass.” Veronica snapped before Logan could reply.

“That would be great, Sheriff.” Logan said smirking when he saw Veronica’s scowl deepen.

“Great I’ll see you tonight, honey.” He said kissing Veronica on the head and then leaving the apartment.

Once he was gone Veronica broke their stare and put her Lucky Charms in the sink then grabbed a banana, some yogurt, and some vegetable quiche she had made the day before. 

“So why have you been avoiding me?” he asked happier now that she was eating something healthy.

She ignored him and instead began to heat up a large piece of quiche. She moved away from the microwave and went to the sink to get a glass of water.

“Veronica, I’ve been up half the night worrying about you, could you please just tell me what I did so I can make it better?” he pleaded moving from his spot at the counter to come stand behind her. His fingers itched to reach out to her, but his hands formed a fist to keep from touching her. 

“Veronica—“

“It’s nothing.” She said quietly turning around and trying to move around him. But her belly was getting too large to move around the kitchen with more than just herself and Logan refused to move. He put his hands on her shoulders making her stand still and then he leaned down a bit to look her in the eye.

“What’s wrong, sugarpuss?” he asked quietly.

She looked away avoiding his gaze and bit her tongue. The words were bubbling to the surface, but she wasn’t sure what to say without sounding petty and jealous. Much to her horror, however, tears formed in her eyes as well and she cursed her uncontrollable hormones.

“Veronica, please tell me what’s wrong? What happened yesterday afternoon? Did you see something? Did someone say something to you? Is something wrong with the baby? Did Trina say something?” He watched her eyes dart to and away from him and he knew he’d said something right. He went back through the list he’d just said and his eyes narrowed annoyed that he hadn’t seen it before.

“What did Trina say?” he asked his voice low.

She stepped out of his grasp and ducked under him as the microwave went off. She quickly grabbed her piece of quiche and sat at the counter.

“She was just being Trina.” She said begrudgingly.

“What do you mean she as just being Trina? What did she say, Veronica?” he asked trying to keep his tone level.

Veronica sighed knowing she was going to have to tell him sooner or later. “She was stirring up trouble. You know how she is.” She said staring down at her breakfast and wishing she was anywhere else, but here.

“Like what? What did she say?” 

“She asked me if I was a pity fuck and if you were still in love with Lilly. She brought up how she caught you staring at a picture of her and how I was just a stand in because we were so close. It just…it brought up some things for me.” She said quietly.

“What kinds of things?” Logan asked watching her carefully.

“You know, insecurities. I mean, you…you have a lot more experience than I do and I just wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

“Like do you get bored? How am I compared to Lilly? Am I just a stand in? Do you still love her? I just wonder those things and I know I shouldn’t let Trina in my head because it’s Trina, but really…I don’t know.” She rambled staring at the counter so she wouldn’t have to avoid looking at Logan.

“I thought we had this conversation.” He said softly.

“We did and I know I’m being hormonal and crazy. I know that, but I can’t help, but think what if I am just a stand in? What if this is because I’m pregnant and you have this sense of honor to stay with me.” She whispered feeling ridiculous for sharing her feelings, but knowing it had to be done.

She felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see Logan right next to her. He pulled her into his arms and she closed her eyes enjoying the feel of him pressed against her. She wrapped her arms around his middle and tugged him closer until she rested her head on his chest.

“You could never be a stand in, Veronica. I love you. If I have to tell you that for the rest of our lives I will. I did love Lilly, but that was before everything happened. And now I don’t love her anymore. I never even loved her a sixteenth of how much I love you. Don’t you ever think you’re a stand in again, ever, ok?” he said softly against her head.

She nodded feeling the tears bubble back to the surface and she squeezed her eyes shut to block them out.

“I’m not here because of honor or duty or whatever you think. I’m here because I want to be and I love you, ok? Do you understand me?” 

She nodded again feeling too choked up to respond.

They stayed like that for awhile until a Logan felt a kick from Veronica’s belly. They both laughed awkwardly and then she continued eating her breakfast. 

“So are we ok?” he asked breaking the silence.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I over reacted.” She said sheepishly.

He shook his head and she noticed the rage in his eyes. “It was Trina meddling. I’m sorry about her.”

“I should’ve expected it. She’s your sister.” Veronica said irritably.

Logan clenched his jaw and tried to will away the anger, but it was so hard when he felt it coursing through him. He wanted to tell Trina off. He wanted to yell at her for interfering with his relationship and most of all he wanted to scream at her for hurting Veronica. 

Once upon a time they had been close, but after Trina ignored the abuse he had never forgiven her. What hurt the most was that Trina had seen it first hand and yet completely ignored it. He remembered on various occasions her coming into the room and swiftly leaving so she could avoid seeing the damage. He knew she was in denial about it, but that didn’t make up for how she didn’t try to do anything. He figured he could say the same thing about his mother, but at least his mother medicated herself. Trina on the other hand was generally sober, but too wrapped up in her own drama to care.

Once Veronica was finished with her breakfast she went to take a shower and he slipped out of the house to call Trina. He wasn’t surprised when it went to voicemail. He considered leaving a message, but decided against it instead wanting to see her face when he told her what a bitch she was for messing with their relationship and Veronica.

“What do you want to do today?” Veronica asked coming out of the shower.

Logan shrugged his mind still on Trina. “I want to go talk to Trina, honestly.” He responded.

“Logan, please… What’s done is done.” She said quietly not wanting to go even further into the situation than she had to. In her mind they had talked about it and she   
made a mental promise to never trust Trina again, not that she really had in the first place.

Logan tensed at her words and began to pace the living room. 

“You don’t understand, I need to talk to her. I can’t just sit by and let her get away with this.” He said passionately.

“But she’s your sister. I agree what she did was wrong, but yelling at her isn’t going to make a difference.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair knowing she was right.

“Whatever.” He mumbled before stopping his pacing and giving her a hard kiss on the lips.

“Let’s go hang out with Wallace and Mac we haven’t done that in awhile.” He suggested knowing that hanging with her best friends would get her mind off the situation. For him he’d just wait until he had a moment alone with Trina to tell her off for what she had said to Veronica.

Veronica grinned and called her best friends so they could hang out. Logan smiled watching as she waddled around the room talking merrily. Finally she hung up and they left to go have a lazy Sunday together with Wallace and Mac.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The atmosphere in the house was tense when Logan and Veronica went to the mansion for dinner.   
Keith had called earlier in the day and had cancelled their dinner plans because of some robbery that had taken place in on of the 09er homes. He had offered to try and have Lamb do the paperwork, but Veronica had told him they could reschedule for the next night. She also thought Lamb would just mess it up and knew her father would do a better job at handling the arrest and making the 09er family feel safer.

Veronica had offered to help finish packing up his room and Logan suggested they have dinner with Lynn first. He had called ahead to let Lynn know Veronica was joining them so he wasn’t surprised that the table was set for more than three people. What did shock him was how there were five place settings instead of the four he’d first thought there would be. 

They had spent the entire day relaxing and enjoying playing games and hanging out with Wallace and Mac so some of Logan’s anger had decreased. Until he saw Trina that was. 

When they walked into the living room he felt the familiar hot burning sensation of anger in the pit of his stomach when his eyes landed on his sister. As if sensing his anger Veronica tightened her hold on his hand and shot Trina a nasty look.

“Oh look! The happy couple, together again.” Trina smirked sipping on the martini she had in her hand.

“You owe an apology to Veronica, Trina, and myself.” He said lazily moving to the couch and settling Veronica into the cushions to make sure she was comfortable. He’d noticed she had been rubbing her back a lot and figured he’d try and help her at least till he could give her a massage later that night.

“Logan—“ Veronica began.

Trina waved him away. “For what? Speaking the truth? I told her what I thought she should know.” 

“Our relationship is none of your business. Nothing in my life is your business. You might be my sister, but you’re a roaring bitch who should’ve stayed away with the trash you call boyfriends.” He snarled glaring at his sister.

Veronica looked back and forth between them uncomfortably and took Logan’s hand again wanting him to calm down.

“It’s not my fault you’re still in love with Lilly.” Trina said taking another sip of her martini and smirking when she saw Logan’s eyes narrow to tiny slits. He advanced towards her and before she could react he hit the martini glass right out of her hand. Veronica watched with growing agitation as Trina’s eyes widened in mock horror and Logan towered over her seated form.

“Watch it, Logan, with that temper of yours you’re bound to turn into our father.” Trina said watching as Logan’s face crumbled. 

Veronica without having to see his face sensed his distress. She watched as he stumbled back. She heaved her body up the quickest she could and wrapped a hand around his arm and pulled him away. She felt a painful ache in her chest when she saw Logan’s face and how completely devastated he looked after Trina’s words. She led him to the dining room and put him in one of the chairs before stomping back into the living room. She was almost seeing red at this point at how vicious Trina was being.

“What is your problem?” Veronica yelled pushing Trina when she stood up to greet her.

Trina looked down at her and slowly wiped the area Veronica had just touched her. “I’d back off, Veronica.” She warned.

Veronica ignored her and pushed her again making her fall back into the couch. “Don’t you ever say that to Logan ever again. He is nothing like his father and just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I won’t hit you. You are an immature, vindictive bitch and you don’t deserve having a brother like Logan. Just go crawl back under whatever hole you decided to emerge from and leave us alone.” Veronica said putting her hands on her hips.

Trina blinked up at her and then started laughing. “You think you can kick me out of my own home, Ver-o-ni-ca? Hello! I live here!”

“No you don’t! Logan and Lynn live her and they shouldn’t have to put up with you! You’re worthless! Worse than worthless, you’re like the scum on the bottom of my shoe. What you said yesterday…God! I don’t know how I even believed you.” Veronica ranted waving her hands.

Trina rolled her eyes. “Because you know it’s true!”

“No! It’s not! Logan loves me and I love Logan! You are trying to screw us up for whatever manipulative—“ Veronica began.

“So what? Maybe I was! I had to do something!” Trina yelled finally standing up and glaring at Veronica.

Veronica glowered back at her, “What does that mean?”

“It means that—“ Trina started.

“Dinner’s ready! Girls are you ready to eat? Where’s Logan?” Lynn asked coming into the room.

Neither Trina nor Veronica moved instead opting to continue to glare at the other.

“Girls? Dinner?” Lynn said again and then eventually Veronica turned and left the living room.

She went to sit beside Logan who was still sitting where she’d left him and looking like a lost puppy. She put a hand on his thigh and rubbed his leg soothingly. She leaned over and gave him a sweet kiss on the side of his head.

“Don’t listen to Trina. She’s wrong.” She whispered.

He nodded and finally turned to her. He gave her a brief smile and then kissed her before pouring some wine into his glass and taking some of the food Mrs. Navarro had just put in front of them. Both Veronica and Logan were surprised when the physical therapist sat at the fifth place setting.

“I thought it would be fun for all of us to get to know Alfonso since he’ll be living with us.” Lynn said smiling at them and not noticing the tense atmosphere.

“Great.” Logan said picking at his food.

“Just another way you can screw around on dad.” Trina spat drinking her new martini.

Lynn blinked and Veronica thought she would just ignore it, but was surprised at what she said next.

“Trina, if you don’t like what’s going on in this house than you can leave. My plan is for us to start over if you don’t like the changes than you don’t have to live here.” Lynn said.

Trina put her martini glass down and glared at her. “I’m here for dad. My father, who has sacrificed a lot for this family! I am going to be there at his arraignment to help him since both of you are testifying against him along with Logan’s floozy girlfriend.” Trina said angrily.

Veronica noticed she was slurring a bit and she wondered if Trina was just drunk or that’s really what she thought.

“Shut up, Trina!” Logan exploded making the room go silent.

“I’m tired of your bullshit! Just leave! No one wants you here. You aren’t here for dad, you’re here for the attention. You only want to testify that he was a good father so you can get you’re five minutes of fame. Guess what, Trina, he’s guilty! He’s as guilty as they come and he’s going away for a long time. Get that through your head, he’s done.” Logan yelled.

“He’s only going away because she’s lying—“ Trina said pointing at Veronica.

“She’s not lying! I saw it! I was there! He tried to kill not just her, but mom too! God! Do you listen to yourself? Are you totally delusional? Are you actually stuck in one of your D grade lifetime movies?” Logan demanded to know.

Trina rolled her eyes and drank the rest of her martini. “Dad asked me to help. He said if I could just break you and Veronica up you’d help him avoid prison. He said the only reason you were testifying against him was because Veronica was forcing you to. Dad’s going to get out, Logan, and when he does he’ll know what a terrible son you are for making up such lies.” She said viciously.

Logan opened his mouth to retort, when much to everyone’s surprise Lynn stepped in.

“Trina, I think you should leave.” Lynn said.

Trina stared at her aghast. “You can’t—“

“I can actually. You have money. You have a day to pack up your things and then you’re out of here. Help Aaron out, lie about what a great father he was, but you are never allowed in any house I own ever again.” She said quietly.

Trina opened her mouth to respond and then shut it seeing everyone’s angry eyes on her. She pushed her seat back and began to walk away. She stopped right before she left and turned around to glare at them all.

“Dad’s going to get everything anyway. Enjoy being rich while you can.” She snapped before stomping out of the dining room.

Once she left it was like they could all breath easier. Lynn turned to Alfonso and gave him a smile.

“Mashed potatoes?” she offered.

Alfonso nodded and shifted awkwardly. “Are all your dinners like that?”

“Only the special ones.” Logan muttered reaching under the table and lacing his fingers with Veronica. She shot him a shy smile and they continued dinner without a hitch.


	43. The Gift

Chapter 43 The Gift 

Veronica sat on the floor of her room staring forlornly at the last box she was packing up. After they had cleaned Logan’s room they started in on her own, since she didn’t have as much stuff as she used to because of the fire it didn’t take nearly as long as his did.

Logan had gone to get something to eat for them and left Veronica to finish up the rest of the last box. She only had five all together and a suitcase full of clothes. Looking at all of belongings she felt a stab of sadness in the pit of her stomach. She rubbed her bulging belly and tried to dislodge the melancholy filled thoughts from her mind. 

She had barely lived in the apartment four months and yet she felt like she was leaving something special behind. She knew it didn’t have anything to do with the apartment specifically, but more so her dad. Sure, she had left him before when she went to go live with Logan, but now it was different. Now it was permanent. She was actually moving in with Logan and leaving her dad.

The last thought finally broke through her carefully crafted dam and she felt the tears begin to roll down her face. She squeezed her eyes shut to try to get them to stop, but after a minute she let them flow freely. She tried to curl herself into a ball, but her stomach was too big and instead she just wrapped her arms around her belly. She held on tightly as she continued to cry. She was so wrapped up in her pain that she didn’t hear the front door open and close.

“Alright, so I got ice cream and – Veronica! Are you ok?” Logan asked upon seeing his girlfriend crying on the floor. He dropped the food on her desk and then hurried towards her scared that something bad had happened. 

She shook her head and her blonde pigtails whipped at her face.

“Ronnie, what’s wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?” he asked touching her body to see if there was some ailment or scratch. When he saw none he pulled back and gently cupped her wet face between his hands.

“What happened?” he asked kissing each of her cheeks to try to get the tears to top.

“I – I just…” she hiccupped and buried her face in his shirt.

“You just what?” he asked in concern.

“I’m going to miss my dad.” She cried into his chest.

Logan’s mouth dropped open a bit and he smirked despite himself. He pulled away and looked down at her.

“You’ll still see him.” He said gently.

She shook her head and went back to crying into his chest. “I know that! But it’s still…everything seems so real. This is real. We are moving in together. Not just moving in, but having a baby. We’re having a baby.” She mumbled pulling herself closer to him.

He put a hand to her head and began to soothingly stroke her hair to calm her. 

“Are you just figuring this out?” he asked a slight teasing tone in his voice.

She pulled away quickly and glared at him. “Don’t make fun of me, Logan. I’m so not in the mood. You don’t understand! This whole thing is real. We’re about to be parents. We’re moving in together.”

“I know that! I get that it’s real, believe me Veronica, I’m not forgetting anytime soon.” He said reaching for her.

She moved out of his grasp and heaved herself off the floor. Logan went to help her, but she waved him away. “Logan, I’m 31 weeks pregnant. We’re having a baby.” She said as if he didn’t already know.

Logan opened his mouth to tell her yet again, that he knew. When he saw her quivering lip and stopped. He suddenly knew what she was trying to say. She hadn’t thought this was actually going to happen, much like with him staying and being involved. It was like their discussion on the beach all those months ago during New Years. Veronica hadn’t realized how real the situation was until now. They were going to be parents and they were going to move in together, but they were also only sixteen and everything felt surreal. He didn’t blame her for not fully grasping the realness of the situation until now, he still had trouble believing it.

“I know.” He said wrapping an arm around her and bringing her back into him. They sat down on the bed and she curled herself onto him until she was sitting in his lap.

“It just suddenly hit me you know. I mean I’ve been pregnant and I’m dealing with that, but now I’m about to have a baby soon. Like what the hell am I going to do with a baby? And then my dad won’t be around anymore and I’m just…” she trailed off and let out a shaky sigh.

“I know.”

“Are you scared?” she whispered looking up at him with big blue eyes.

He nodded and pulled her closer laying a gentle hand on her abdomen. “Yeah, I’m scared.” He admitted.

They sat silently curled around one another until Veronica gazed up at him with watery blue eyes. She leaned in and places a gentle kiss on his lips. He responded instantly and softly prodded the seam of her mouth for entrance. She opened herself immediately to him and wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer. She let out a soft moan as he guided her body down to the bed and let his hands run up and down her sides tickling them slightly.

She pulled away her breathing heavy as she looked up at him and then she reached for the hem of his shirt.

“Where’s your dad?” he asked halting her movement with his hand.

She smiled softly. “Thanks for ruining the mood.” She teased.

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. The kiss was passionate and he nipped gently at her bottom lip. Before she could respond he moved down the column of her neck and sucked the pulse point that always made her move her hips in invitation. She wriggled against him and he groaned at the movement since she was rubbing against his already semi hard cock. 

He moved away from her neck and slowly made his way down her body taking time to press kisses to the still clothed parts that he loved. Once he reached her belly he laid a hand across it and looked up at her with love shining in his eyes.

“He’s not going to walk in here, right?” he asked since she never answered his question.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, he’s working. He said he should be home around nine or so.” 

Logan looked at her alarm clock and let out a sigh of relief seeing that they still had a few hours to go.

He moved away suddenly and yanked his shirt over his head before helping her out of her own shirt. Once they were both topless he attached himself to her engorged breasts and began to nip at them gently and massage them since he knew they were sore. She arched her back craving the need to feel him closer to her. Logan grinned enjoying how he could tease her and knew just where to touch her to make her moan for him. 

“More.” She whined reaching for his head and pulling him away from her breasts so she could kiss him properly. Desire oozed from their eyes as they gazed at each other and their tongues danced together demonstrating how much they needed the other. 

She opened her legs to cradle his body wanting to feel him as close as possible.

“Logan.” She moaned when he pulled away. 

“Veronica.” He murmured back kissing her on the nose before pulling his pants and hers away. He went back to his original position between her legs and began to move down her body planting kisses in his wake. When he came to the junction between her thighs and Veronica saw what he was about to do she tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. He looked up confused at her and she shook her head.

“Not tonight. I want you—“ she paused and took a deep breath her skin coloring a delicate shade of red. “I want you inside – inside me.” She stuttered feeling bashful for telling him what she wanted, and yet empowered for being able to say it.

He grinned and moved his way back up her body. He pressed a bruising kiss to her lips and then plopped down on the bed beside her.

She rolled her eyes playfully and she slid on top of him straddling his waist.

“I hate this position.” She muttered easing herself up so she could impale herself on him. She took him in inch by inch feeling as he stretched her as far as she could go.

Once he was inside they both let out a sigh both content with the feeling of the closeness of the other. Logan had never felt anything so good as being inside Veronica and Veronica felt so full with Logan within her. She had limited experience, but she was pretty sure he was it for her. He had ruined her for anyone else.

“We’re kinda limited in what we can do, sugarpuss.” He said placing his hands on her hips and starting a steady motion.

She gasped feeling how he filled her to the extreme. Finally after several delicious thrusts she found her voice. “I feel like you can see my double chin.” She said moving herself off his cock and then guiding herself back down taking him all in at once. They both moaned at the feeling and she did it again enjoying watching the expression of complete bliss on Logan’s face.

As she raised herself up to do it once more he gripped her hips to get her to stop. “You have no idea how good that feels.” He breathed closing his eyes momentarily and trying to concentrate on something besides the amazing feeling of her. If she didn’t stop he was going to come and they had barely even started.

“If you keep doing that I’m not going to last.” He finished off in the same breathy tone.

She smirked enjoying the fact she could make him come without even trying and then she began to move her hips slowly.

“You don’t have a double chin. You’re perfect.” He added as she rode him slowly. He watched mesmerized by the bopping motion of her breasts and she took one of his hands off her hip and entwined their fingers.

“You’re only saying that because you have to.” She said gasping when he moved his other hand off her hip and put it between her thighs. She watched his eyes darken as his fingers pinched and stroked her clit. Her movements became faster matching his own.

“No, you are. You’re perfect and beautiful and I love you. Besides I like this position. I love to watch your face when I make you come.” he said watching as her face displayed her ecstasy. Their movements increased and finally her inner muscles began to spasm around him. She let out a low guttural noise as she came and soon after he followed. She rolled off him and curled up beside him. They lay there breathing heavily for awhile. 

Finally when they heard Veronica’s stomach growl Logan got up and went to grab the food he’d left on her desk. He handed her the pizza box and then hurried into the kitchen and grabbed two spoons for them. 

She was sprawled against her pillows with the open box of pizza in front of her. She grinned when he walked in and patted the area right beside her.

“You should be lucky my dad isn’t home. Running around naked in his own home would totally get you a death sentence.” She said as he crawled back into bed. He handed her a spoon and she curled up beside him. It took some maneuvering around so they could eat and lay against each other, but eventually they figured it out. Logan lay against the pillows and Veronica sat between his legs with the pizza on one side of their bodies and the ice cream being handed back and forth between them.

“Well when we move in to my house there will be naked time encouraged.” He said taking a bite of ice cream before handing it back.

She laughed, “I don’t think we’ll have time what with taking care of a baby and all.”

“Maybe not, but I think it should be enforced.”

“You’re mom’s going to be there, plus the physical therapist.” She said.

Logan made a face at the thought of the physical therapist and pulled her to him tighter.

“Ah yes Al-Fon-So.” He said mocking his name.

Veronica turned to look up at him and raised her eyebrow. “You don’t like him?”

“I don’t trust him.” Logan amended.

“Why not?” she asked handing him the ice cream container.

He sighed and laid his chin on top of her head. “So I was thinking, maybe tomorrow night we could go to dinner and then look at the new house. Mom gave me a set of keys and told me that we need to decide which room will be ours and the baby’s. I didn’t want to chose without you.” He said shyly when she turned around to look at him.

She grinned, “Seriously? She’s letting us chose?” 

Logan nodded, “we will be living there for two years. Maybe more if we stay here for college.”

She looked away feeling the earlier emotions come back to her. This was really happening. They were really doing this. She felt her stomach flip flop and suddenly she wasn’t so hungry anymore. She thought about everything she was giving up so she could raise this baby and be with Logan. Not that it was a bad thing being with Logan and having their baby, but she’d never get to do anything she wanted to. She would never just be able to up and leave without telling anyone. Or go to Stanford or follow any of her dreams. She’d always have to talk to Logan about each decision, just like he was with her, and she was going to be responsible for a living, breathing, human being. She was about to become a mother and she had no idea what that entailed.

Suddenly she felt tears come to her eyes and she felt the scary emotions from earlier come back about how she was leaving her dad to move in with her boyfriend and how she was going to be a mother at sixteen. 

As Logan went on about the house Lynn had picked out Veronica did everything in her power to keep the tears at bay. She didn’t know why she was so scared – Logan was with her he wasn’t scared, so why was she?

“So what do you think? Tomorrow night? Us? New house? Maybe some room christening going on?” he said drawing designs on her bare back.

She nodded and resolutely tried to keep the tears quiet.

“Veronica?” 

He moved slightly to the side so he could see her face and he pulled her closer once he saw the tears.

“What’s going on, Veronica?” he asked kissing her tears away and hugging her close.

“I don’t know! One minute I’m fine and the next…hormones.” She cried trying to wipe the tears away. He moved her hand away and gently wiped the wet trails.

“It’s going to be ok, Veronica, you’ll see.” He whispered kissing her on the top of her head.

“But what if it’s not? What if we don’t get along? Or we have a demon child? Or what if something bad happens?” she said wildly.

He pulled away slightly and cupped her face with his hands, much like he had earlier.

“I can’t control everything, Veronica, but what I can tell is that you’ve been my rock for the past few weeks with my dad and everything – hell the last few months with everything that has happened and I couldn’t have gotten here without you. I love you and I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe, but everything’s not going to be perfect. You’ve helped me and now it’s my turn to help you.” he said soothingly.

She nodded and leaned in to him breathing in his familiar scent. “Promise you won’t leave me.” She whispered.

“I promise.” He replied.

They stayed like that until Veronica was nearly asleep.

“Sugarpuss, we have to get dressed or else your dad’s going to kill me.”

Veronica smiled sleepily and reluctantly put her oversized t-shirt and yoga pants on. Once they were both dressed Logan put the remainder of the food in the refrigerator and they both crawled into bed. Even though it was much earlier than either of them went to bed all of the stress of moving and school knocked them out. They were asleep before the Sheriff even came home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After school the next day they decided to go see the house before dinner. Logan drove them to the outskirts of the 09er distract a few blocks from the ocean. He pressed in some numbers to open the gate and then they drove up a long driveway. It was one of those wrap around driveways with a large fountain in the middle of it. There were several strategically placed plants on the edge of the gate and around the fountain. Veronica could feel her jaw drop already at the sheer size of the house. The house was white with a balcony in the front and it seemed to expand outwards and back. 

Logan took out his key and opened the door leaving Veronica speechless as they walked in to it. Right when they walked in there was a spiraling staircase in front of them and then off of the room there was an entryway to either go right into a room that looked like a living room or left where it looked like a dining room. Logan began to show her around and Veronica wondered if she’d ever get over how much money they had or how big this house was. It seemed to be bigger than the previous one.

Once they were done with the downstairs Logan took them upstairs to the fast array of rooms on the second floor.

“How many bedrooms are there?” Veronica asked as he pointed out yet another room they could put the nursery in.

“I think, eight, but I know mom wants a room for her study and she wants a library too. But there’s a room downstairs she could use for a library. She’s going to have the master bedroom, but there are a few in the west wing I want us to look at.”

Veronica felt like her head was spinning. “Let’s pick a room near another for the nursery and where there’s a bathroom.”

Logan nodded slowly. “I kind of had a room in mind. I wanted to show you and run it by you incase you didn’t like it or something.” He said rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

She smiled slightly identifying the tell-tale signs that Logan was being shy and anxious. “Where is it?” she asked curiously.

“This way.” He said taking her hand and leading her down another hallway. They hadn’t been over this way and Veronica was curious to know where this hallway led.

“So my mom’s taking the master bedroom, which is on the other side of the house, but I was thinking that maybe we could have this side since it’s kinda secluded.   
We’d have this wing of the house.” He said gesturing around them. He opened one door and they walked in. She looked around at the bright windows and the view that showed into the backyard where a pool and poolhouse were.

“This could be the nursery and then—“ he broke off to move out of the room and across the hall where a bigger room was. “This could be our room and there’s a bathroom through there.” He said pointing to one of two doors. 

She nodded feeling slightly overwhelmed at all the space.

“What do you think?” he asked nervously.

“I like it and we’d be close to the baby so that would make everything easier.” She said looking back and forth between the two rooms.

“I thought that too. These are the two closest rooms in the house and mom’s across the house so we’d basically be living by ourselves.” He said wrapping his arms around her waist.

She nodded slowly unable to wrap her mind around what was going on.

“Where’s Alfonso living?” she asked curiously.

“In the pool house.” He said absentmindedly.

“So we’d really be living alone.” She said in awe.

He nodded. “And if you’re dad ever wants to stay over there’s plenty of room.”

“This is just so…wow.” She said shaking her head in disbelief.

“Everything’s going to be good, Veronica. This is the start of something new.” He said kissing her on top of her head and the making his way down till he reached her lips.

She was still in awe about living in such a big place that she couldn’t respond.

“I have one more thing for you.” he said pulling away and reaching into his back pocket.

She watched nervously as he produced a little black box from his pocket. He handed it to her and watched with apprehension as she opened it.

“Logan…” she said trailing off when she saw long dangling white sapphire earnings.

She stared at the earnings for a moment before looking up at Logan with wide eyes.

“I can’t…I can’t accept these.” She said finally watching as his face crumpled.

“Do you not like them?” he asked concern and nervousness leaking into his voice.

“No. I love them.” She said apologetically.

He smiled slightly and took a step closer. “Then what’s wrong? Why can’t you accept them?”

“It’s too much. I mean these must’ve cost you a fortune! I mean, isn’t white sapphire like really expensive? I don’t really know, but I feel like it is.” She rambled.

His smile turned into a smirk watching her ramble. “They’re white gold too, you know.” He added. “And they have real diamonds in them.” 

She shook her head adamantly and closed the little black box back into his hands. “Logan, I can’t accept this. It’s too much. I mean, where do I even wear something l  
like this to? School? Out on a case?”

He took one of her hands and pushed the box back into it. “Veronica, you’re carrying my child and then you’re about to pop the kid out. I think, you deserve a little something for the hard work, not to mention putting up with me, and everything else we’ve had to deal with. I want us moving into this house to be a new step for us. I want us to move forward, together.” He said quietly looking down at her as she gazed up at him.

“Don’t you want to take that step with me?” he asked shyness lacing his tone.

She nodded slowly, “Yeah, but you don’t have to give me earrings to do that.” 

“But I want to. Just take them, Veronica. Think of me when you wear them.” He said softly.

She bit her lip and then clasped the box in her hand. “Fine, but I’m getting you something too.”

“You already have.” He said before wrapping his arms around her and giving her a kiss on the forehead and then one on her lips. He let his hands fall to her bulging stomach and their eyes connected the familiar chemistry crackling between them. She leaned up for a kiss and he leaned down and they both felt ready for what was to come.


	44. The Move

Chapter 44 The Move

“How are you feeling today, Veronica?” the doctor asked coming into the room and giving the petite blonde a smile.

Veronica grimaced and rubbed her stomach feeling the effects of the lunch she had consumed a mere hour ago. 

“I’m ok. Tired and having to pee all of the time mostly.” She said. She tried to get comfortable on the table she had to sit on so the doctor could examine her, but any way she sat was more uncomfortable than the last. 

“Where’s Logan today?” the doctor asked.

“Our teachers actually allowed us to finish the semester early since I’m pregnant and we’re moving. He’s finishing his last test. I already finished mine.” She said trying to ignore the cold gel being put on her stomach.

“It’s good that you guys will have the summer to get familiar with taking care of the baby. How many weeks of school do you have left?” the doctor asked concentrating on examining Veronica.

“Well we’d have about a month left, but like I said our teachers allowed us to finish up our coursework early. I think our parents had something to do with it though, since Logan’s mom was in the hospital and his dad was accused of murder.” Veronica rambled watching the screen.

“Have you guys thought about Lamaze classes or what kind of birth plan you want?” 

Veronica blinked not knowing how to answer the question. They’d barely gotten their things packed for the move. They were finishing up their Sophomore year, and   
Veronica still had yet to accept that she was leaving her dad. How was she supposed to decide on Lamaze classes or if she wanted a midwife or a water birth? 

“It’s ok Veronica, I know it’s a lot to take in, even for women who have had multiple children. Have you talked to your mother about any of this?” 

“She’s not around.” Veronica said automatically.

The doctor gave her a sympathetic look and Veronica looked away not liking the pity she saw in her eyes.

“Here are some brochures, take it over with Logan. Remember, you only have about two months left. You have time, but you should decide soon. June 30, will come up sooner than you’d expect.”

“I’ve finished the books.” Veronica piped in.

The doctor smiled at her and turned back to the screen. “You can see his toenails and fingernails now. See.” She said pointing to the screen.

Veronica nodded numbly the fear she had been fighting off increasing tenfold as she realized that there was a person living in her.

“He looks so…” she trailed off biting her tongue on the word ‘real.’

“I know it’s very overwhelming, even after you have the baby you’ll be overwhelmed, but remember millions of woman have done this before. You’ll be fine.” she reassured the teenager.

Veronica nodded and blinked back her tears. She listened to the doctor begin to tell her what signs she should look for and when she should come to the hospital.

“Alright, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to call. I strongly suggest Lamaze classes and talking with Logan about your birthing plan. Also look out for the signs, you’re closing in on the finish line, Veronica you need to be aware of what your body is going through. I’ll see you in two weeks.” The doctor said smiling at her.

Veronica nodded and watched the doctor leave before she began to get dressed. She made an appointment for two weeks and then waddled out of the office. She went to her car and then drove back to the apartment for a nap before Logan came to get her so they could begin moving her small amount of things to the large brand new house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lynn had been orchestrating the move. She had hired many people to help and organize the new house since she couldn’t do much and Logan was off finishing his classes.

The only things Logan and Veronica had to do were move their belongings into the rooms they had designated as theirs. Lynn had ordered all brand new furniture and had taken her extensive art collection along with a few other things she wanted to keep from the previous house. She had decided to sell a majority of the furniture her and Aaron had picked out together. It wasn’t that they needed the money she just wanted to get rid of all reminders of Aaron as soon as possible.

The move had been going on for a few weeks now, but now that a majority of the big items were in the house and the realtor wanted the family out of the estate they were on their last week of moving. Lynn had already moved in fully to the house and signed the paperwork, so it was just up to Logan to finish moving his stuff and Veronica’s things into the house. 

After school Logan went to the Mars’ apartment to find Veronica curled up and sleeping on her bed. He gently touched her shoulder to wake her up.

“Hey.” He said when she finally came to.

“Hey. What time is it?” she asked yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“About four. Are you ready to take your stuff over?” Logan asked helping her into a sitting position.

Veronica nodded still groggy from waking up. As they packed up the X-terra she told him about the doctor’s appointment and what the doctor said.

“So what do you think about Lamaze?” she asked as they drove over to the new house.

Logan shrugged, “I’m not about to squeeze a baby out.”

“But do you think we should do it? I mean, I don’t know I how I feel about sitting in a class with a bunch of middle aged woman.” Veronica said quietly.

Logan looked over at her at a stoplight and contemplated what she said. “Since when have you cared what anyone has ever thought of you?” he asked giving her a significant look.

She smiled slightly, “So will you do it with me?” she asked shyly.

“If you want me to.”

“I do.” She said quietly.

Logan smiled and nodded. “Then we’ll sign up when we find some classes. What about the birth plan? Have you thought about that yet?”

“Hospital for sure. I’m not about to squeeze a baby out in your mother’s house or in a bathtub. Too weird. And I want you right near my head, you are not allowed to see anything below my waist.” She said giving him a firm look.

He chuckled, “why not?”

She looked away feeling embarrassed. “Just because.” She said shortly not wanting to reveal why she didn’t want him to see what was going on down there. She didn’t want him to be completely disgusted by her. She knew giving birth could get gross, bloody, and many bodily fluids flowing in excess. She didn’t want Logan to see any of that. 

“Ok, Veronica, whatever you say.” He said pulling up to the gate and putting in the code. They drove through the gate and pulled up behind a moving truck and some other cars. 

They walked in together to find several movers in the house along with Mrs. Navarro and Weevil.

“What’s Weevil doing here?” Logan asked looking over at the PCHer who was carrying a box up the stairs.

Veronica shrugged and looked around the house that was slowly coming together. She walked over to Mrs. Navarro who was directing some of the movers around.

“Honestly, if I didn’t tell them what to do everything would be a mess in my kitchen.” Mrs. Navarro said spotting Veronica and coming over to her. She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then ordered a mover to put a box near the cupboard.

“As nice as Mrs. Echolls is she’s never stepped foot in here.” Mrs. Navarro added finally turning back to Veronica.

“Is Eli helping with the move?” Veronica asked curiously.

Mrs. Navarro nodded. “Mrs. Echolls told him she’d give him money if he helped. Why don’t you go put him and your boyfriend to good use.” She said winking at Veronica.

Veronica smiled and nodded moving back towards Logan who was quietly talking to Weevil. When she came up they immediately stopped and gave her a look.

“You’re helping?” she asked curiously.

Weevil nodded, “figured after you helped me and my boys out it was the least I could do. Plus you’re pregnant, V, pregnant chicks shouldn’t move their own stuff.” He said tossing a glare at Logan who returned it in kind.

Veronica rolled her eyes, “thanks. Come on I’ll show you the stuff.” She said leading Weevil out to Logan’s car as Logan went upstairs so he could direct his own stuff to the designated areas.

“So how’s it going with you and the white boy?” Weevil asked as she opened Logan’s car where her stuff was.

Veronica smiled, “Good. It’s my last week at home.”

“How’s the kid?” he asked looking at her stomach.

“Healthy and growing.” She said watching as he took a bag. She grabbed her suitcase and waved Weevil away when he made a sound to help her.

“How are you dealing with everything?” she asked kindly.

Weevil shrugged, “more things I don’t want to talk about.” He said shortly.

She nodded and continued rolling her suitcase up the stairs. 

“Hey, uh, Veronica.” Weevil began grabbing her attention.

She looked back at him curiously. “Yeah?”

“I uh…I mean, you still help people, right?” he asked cautiously.

Veronica frowned, “yeah, I mean, I haven’t lately only because of everything that’s been going on, but yeah generally.”

Weevil nodded accepting the answer and turning back to walk into the house.

“Is there something you need help with?” she asked making him stop and turn around to regard her.

Weevil looked away and then sighed. “Maybe, it’s just…just gang stuff. I mean, you’re pregnant I don’t want to get you involved. I have a feeling the white boy would kill me.”

Veronica smiled slightly, “probably, but I don’t think that would stop you from asking. Is there anything you need help with?” she asked again.

Weevil regarded her for a minute before beginning to walk back to the house. “I’ll let you know.” He said vaguely before going into the house.

Veronica watched him go and then continued after him. It took no time at all to finish unpacking Logan’s car and organizing everything in the room. She didn’t get another chance to question Weevil, but she made a mental note to ask again in a few weeks. She wondered what was going on, but she had other things to worry about, like the baby coming.

Once they unpacked and put all the boxes in their designated places Logan drove her back to the apartment and dropped her off. She was surprised to see her dad already there with dinner ready. Tonight they were supposed to have dinner since she’d be moving into the Echolls’ mansion within the next few days.

Keith was setting the table when she came in.

“How was moving?” he asked.

“Good. I have a few of my clothes and things I need until I officially move in this weekend.” She said feeling nostalgic for leaving her dad.

Keith nodded and watched as she squeezed herself into a chair.

“And you’re sure you’re going to be ok over there?” Keith asked.

She nodded and gave him a wistful smile. “It’ll be fine, right? I mean, I can always call you if I need you.” she said trying to wave his concern away.

He smiled, “yeah, honey you can always count on me.”

“Thanks.” She said before helping herself to some food. They ate dinner and made small talk. When they were finished Veronica began to do the dishes her mind turning to a question she had yet to ask her dad. It had been weighing on her mind for some time, but with all of the events going on she had yet to ask.

“Did you know about Jake and mom?” she blurted out surprising Keith.

“Why do you ask that?”

Veronica was silent for awhile before mustering up the courage to tell him. “Duncan told me I was his…his sister, but I got a paternity test and I’m not.” She added hastily.

Keith smiled sadly and set down the dish he was drying. “I know. I mean, I know I’m your father.”

“How could mom do that?” Veronica asked staring down at her sudsy hands.

“Your mom…she’s a complicated woman, Veronica. Even if you weren’t mine biologically I would still be your father.” He said quietly.

“I know, I just can’t believe mom would do this. I mean, after everything I’ve seen Logan go through and having a baby myself… I can’t understand why she did what she did.” She admitted softly.

“I can’t tell you why she did what she did because I’m not her, but I can tell you that I love you very much and I’ll always be here for you. I’m your father, Veronica, for better or worse.” He said kissing her on the top of her forehead before picking the plate back up to continue drying it.

“Do you know where she is?” she asked curiously.

“No.”

She sighed and picked up another dish. “I’m afraid I’ll end up being like her.” She revealed.

Keith looked over at her a sad look in his eyes. “We don’t know what the future brings, Veronica, but I do know that you are very much your own person. If you don’t want to be like her you won’t. Just know that whatever kind of parent you envision, you won’t be perfect. I tried to keep you safe and look how it ended up. You’re a smart girl, honey, but you need to know that with becoming a parent it’s a lot more than just being smart. When you become a parent you feel this need to protect your child and you want to give them the best, but sometimes life has other plans. The one thing I can tell you is do the best you can and love you’re child.” He said calmly.

“But what if it’s not enough? What if I mess up?”

“You’re human. You make mistakes. I’ve made mistakes, so has your mother, but that doesn’t mean we love you any less. I think, for what it’s worth, that you and Logan will both do a fine job as long as you commit yourself. I know it’s too early to be doing this and your life will never be like how you want it to be, but just remember you aren’t your mother.” He said heavily.

“You’ll help me right?” she whispered feeling ashamed.

“Of course, honey. And you have Logan, Lynn, and your friends. I know things seem crazy right now, but once you meet the little guy you’ll understand what I’m talking about. You’ll never want to leave him once you meet him and you’ll want to protect him from everything.” He said setting the dish down and grabbing another.

“Promise?” 

He smiled and nodded, “I promise.”

She gulped and grabbed the last dish feeling a mixture of happiness for talking to her father and more nerves for what he’d told her. There were only a few weeks left after all.


	45. The Shower

Chapter 45 The Shower

“You’re joining a lot later than most couples, but I guess we can squeeze you in.” Angela, the Lamaze instructor snipped when Veronica and Logan walked into her class early on Monday morning. It had just been their first weekend in the new house and both of them were still a little disoriented from the move and living somewhere new. Especially sharing their space with each other, something neither of them ever had to do before. 

Veronica, at this point was 34 weeks along and after discussing with Logan what they should do they signed up for a Lamaze class that went over the basics, and included a tour of the hospital. They also decided on taking some parenting classes so that they could be as prepared for the baby as possible. Lynn had also suggested a mother’s discussion group for Veronica since she was so young, but Veronica had nixed the idea since she didn’t want to talk about her problems with a bunch of other teen moms or moms in general. 

“This class meets twice a week for an hour and you need to sign up for the day you want to tour the hospital. How many weeks are you?” Angela asked in the same snippy voice Veronica was starting to hate.

“34.” Veronica said grumpily.

“Yes, you signed up way later than you should’ve. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll be able to teach you everything, but I guess we can try. I see you signed up for parenting classes as well?” Angela said looking down at the clipboard that had all of their information.

“Yes.”

“I also teach those and it’s two days a week for six weeks, like this class. Are you sure you can handle all of it? How old are you?” Angela asked staring at them in a haughty manner.

“We already answered all of these questions during the two hours of paper work we had to fill out. If you could stop wasting our time my girlfriend and I would like to get our money’s worth.” Logan said raising an eyebrow at the older woman.

Angela scowled and turned away slamming the clipboard with the other ones on the side table in the back. She stalked to the front of the class as Logan and Veronica tentatively entered the room further to stand with the other ten couples. Most of the couples were in their late twenties or early thirties. The teen couple stood out like a sore thumb, but neither Veronica nor Logan minded since they were used to being watched constantly anyway. Veronica noticed a few of the other women whispering to their husbands and the usual anger she felt when she saw people giving Logan cautious sideways looks flared up. She opened her mouth to say something when Angela began to speak.

“Welcome class. It seems we have two new students. Everyone welcome Veronica and Logan Echolls.” She said gesturing to them and then beginning to talk about the breathing techniques they would be working on today.

“Oh my God, are you related to Aaron Echolls?” the guy beside Logan asked with interest and wide fangirl-like eyes.

Veronica cringed upon hearing the question and was thankful when the instructor told them to chose a mat and begin their breathing techniques. 

The rest of the class went smoothly for the most part, except for one incident when Veronica caught a case of the giggles and Logan had to literally cover her mouth to keep from interrupting Angela, who already heavily disliked them. Angela gave both Logan and Veronica more paperwork to fill out about things having to do with feelings, and then she encouraged the couples to talk to each other about their worries about becoming parents. Something neither Logan nor Veronica wanted to deal with.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do about my job now that I have a baby. I mean what about my career?” A tall blonde woman bemoaned as the women stood near the cookies that were put out for when class was over.

Veronica noticed she was the only one munching on them and the only one not moaning about her body, career, or how their husband wasn’t supportive enough. She looked across the room where she saw five husbands crowded around Logan asking questions no doubt about Aaron and the other few husbands shooting them annoyed looks. 

“Veronica, you should come to our mother’s group.” The tall blonde said turning to Veronica who had been staring across the room at Logan.

“What?” Veronica asked turning to the other moms who were staring at her with interest.

“We think you should join our mother’s group. I mean, you’re so young and we would love to take you under our wing.” A short red head said.

Veronica grimaced, but tried to force a smile on her face. “What exactly is a mother’s group?” she asked cautiously.

“We just talk about our husbands. Sneak things we shouldn’t and bitch about all the weight we’re going to have to work off.” The tall blonde said flipping her hair.

“Oh, you know I’ll have to talk to Logan about it.” Veronica said giving her a sweet smile before taking another cookie.

“Veronica, if you don’t watch what you eat you’ll never get that weight off.” The red head warned.

Veronica flashed her a smile and looked across the room at Logan. She tilted her head towards the door and he nodded imperceptibly. He said something to the other men and then made his way towards her as quickly as possible.

“It was really nice meeting you, but we should be going.” Veronica said giving them another smile before leaving the little group.

“Let us know about joining the group! We’d love to have another member.” They said waving in unison at her.

Veronica nodded and hurried to catch up with Logan. They shared a look and then burst out into laughter.

“I don’t know what was worse. Angela or the fan clubs we’ve accumulated.” Logan said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I’m thinking the fan clubs, there are more of them. More people to bother us with asinine questions.” She said snuggling into his side.

“Are you sure you want to do this for six weeks? We have to spend six weeks, four days a week with these types of people. Can we handle it?” Logan asked as they   
walked to the car.

“Yes.” She said firmly. 

“Alright, but if they turn vicious I’m bailing and we’ll just have to wing parenthood. We’ll corrupt him and Marsden will never get play dates because we never took the classes.”

“I think our child will already be corrupt with having us for parents. It’s only for a little while though.”

“Two hours a week for six weeks for Lamaze and then an additional two hours a week of parenting classes? That sounds like pure torture.” he whined.

“No, what’s torture is the fact that your mom didn’t take no as an answer for the baby shower.” She said giving him a look.

Logan smirked, “It’s supposed to be a surprise you know.”

“Mrs. Navarro asked me what I wanted as a present. She’s knitting us a blanket.” 

Logan snapped his fingers in an ‘awe shucks’ way.

“I’m grateful to your mom, I am. I just don’t really want to sit around making awkward small talk with all the celebrities she wants to invite.”

“So I take it you saw the guest list too, huh?” Logan said sheepishly.

“Logan! 200 people? I don’t know 200 people! Why would they want to come to my baby shower?” she asked in exasperation.

“It’s not actually about you.” Logan said opening the car door for her.

Veronica raised an eyebrow in question at him.

“My mom’s been having a hard time with all the stuff going on with Aaron.” He admitted quietly.

Veronica’s face softened and she let out a sigh. “Fine, I mean we’ll get presents, right?” she said relenting.

Logan nodded, “we’ll probably never have to buy anything until the kid turns 10.” He said starting the car.

She rolled her eyes, but knew that she was going to have to go through with this. She owed Lynn a lot already and now that she was letting them live together in a whole wing of her house she was going to owe her a lot more.

“You’re not going to leave me, right?” she asked nervously tossing him a look.

“Unless my mother decides to make the shower girls only.” 

Veronica scrunched her face up at that and tried to ignore the image of all women, too much pink and taffeta, and conversation like she’d experienced today. “I’ll pass.” She mumbled making Logan laugh as they began to drive home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Veronica woke up the morning of the baby shower she knew from the sounds of Lynn yelling directions that it was going to be more elaborate than she’d ever wanted it. She had woken up alone, feeling sore, with backaches. She had half a mind to go find Logan, but decided against the idea knowing that he was already going to have to be on his best behavior for the shower. 

After she laid in bed for awhile listening to Lynn screech directions she eventually got up and went to take a shower. Once she was done she put on one of the few flattering maternity dresses she had. It was a light blue one that flowed down the length of her body. She curled her hair and then put on some light make up before making her way downstairs. She was surprised when she saw her father and Logan sitting at the kitchen table surrounding by pink decorations. 

“Does she know the baby’s a boy?” Veronica asked sitting at the table with them.

“I think she’d holding out for a girl.” Logan said pushing a plate full of food towards her.

“What time are people coming?” Veronica asked already feeling nervous at so many people being in the house and around her.

“Around noon. We’re having a catered lunch, presents, conversation, then games.” He said tossing a piece of paper with a list of activities on it. 

“If you say ‘baby’ you have to eat a marshmallow.” She read frowning. “Why would eating a marshmallow be bad?” she asked curiously.

“You forget all of these woman eat a stick of celery a week. An entire sugary dessert would make them devour a box of laxatives and stick their fingers down their   
throat like middle school girls.” Logan said earning a disapproving look from Keith and Veronica.

“It’s true! They eat nothing.” He protested.

“I didn’t need that visual.” Keith muttered going back to drinking his coffee.

“So who are all these people coming?” Veronica asked beginning to eat her breakfast.

“Just people from movies my parents have worked on, friends of my mom’s, and their PR people. No one that is really all that interesting, but mom wants to show all   
these people she’s fine after everything that has happened.” Logan said flippantly.

Veronica sighed and sat back in her chair feeling uncomfortable already. “Get ready for Hollywood.” She muttered.

The rest of the morning before the guests got there was full of people moving things and getting everything ready. Soon enough guests began to arrive and Veronica was surprised she recognized a few of the people here. 

“I figured you’d like if your friends came too.” Lynn said from beside her as she greeted people.

Veronica throw her a thankful smile and continued greeting people since she technically was the host even if all the people knew Lynn.

Eventually everyone had arrived and Veronica got a chance to talk to Mac and Meg who had both come stating they had gotten an invite from Logan. The three girls hung out for awhile until lunch was served and they had to go take their seats. Logan and Veronica were at the head of the party with Lynn and Keith. The lunch portion of the shower went well. After they played games and many people broke into groups to converse. Initially they were going to open presents, but Veronica couldn’t get over how many there were and she felt way too uncomfortable opening presents in front of two hundred plus people. Soon enough five o’clock rolled around and a majority of the people left. Some stayed around to talk to Lynn and Keith about what was going on with Aaron and whether Lynn was going to get back into acting.

Mac and Meg left Veronica and Logan he took her upstairs claiming he had a surprise.

“Is it a pony?” she asked excitedly.

He chuckled and guided her along walking slower for her benefit since all of the extra girth was making it difficult for her to move quickly. 

“I can’t wait for this kid to get out of me, I feel like an obese whale.” She complained when they got to the top of the stairs.

“You don’t look like an obese whale. You look beautiful carrying our kid.” He said kissing her gently on the lips.

She rolled her eyes, “you’re just saying that to get into my pants.”

“I think I already accomplished that part of the game.” He snarked walking to the baby’s room.

“Close you’re eyes.” He demanded turning to her.

She pouted, “How did you ever get a pony up those stairs and into that little room? Wait! If you bought the baby a pony I will never forgive you.” she warned giving a significant look.

He smirked and told her to close her eyes again. She rolled them, but did what he asked.

He opened the door and slowly guided her into the nursery. Once she was situated into the middle of it he told her to open her eyes. She gasped when she did taking in the painted mural on the wall and the words Marsden Keith Echolls painted across the door. The room was empty besides for the paintings, but she knew that with all of the items they just gotten they’d have everything they needed. They just had to set everything up the way they wanted.

“Mom made sure we got everything we needed so all we have to do is shove everything in here. She picked out everything so you know we’re set. I figured I’d put the room together within the next few days. You just have to open all the presents.” He said taking in the excited look on her face.  
She grinned and wrapped her arms around him kissing him hard on the mouth. “When did you have time to do all of this? And how are we going to fit all of those presents in here?” she asked bewildered.

“Your dad helped and we’ve been working on it for a few days. Why else have I been closing the door?” He said giving her a look.

She grinned and kissed him again. “It’s perfect.” She gushed.

“As for the presents we’ll figure it out. We have to go through everything and see what we got first, but I’m sure it’ll all fit.” He said pulling her closer to him.

She smiled up at him and nodded, “I love it.” She said looking at the animal mural and their son’s name on the wall. “Who knew you could paint.” She added smirking   
at his offended look.

“If it helps we did use stencils.” He said rubbing the back of his neck and looking at her with embarrassment.

“That sounds more like my boyfriend and father.” She said pulling way to look closer at the mural.

“So you like it?”

“I love it. It’s almost as good as a pony. Almost.” She said coming to stand back at his side.

“Come on, let’s get your dad to help take the presents upstairs and then I’ll give you a back rub.”

She clapped happily. “Backrub! You read my mind.” She said putting her hand on the small of her back.

“I noticed it early.” He said kissing the side of her head and taking her into the bedroom.

“You rest and I’ll ask your dad to help.” He said setting her into the bedroom.

She nodded and began to get ready for bed before spiraling on her side and tried to get comfortable. She fell asleep before Logan returned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Veronica began to go through the boxes they had yet to unpack. She figured the first room they should get comfortable in was their room and then they could fix the nursery how they wanted it. Besides she wanted to wait until Logan was with her to open everything. Since he was out surfing she figured she should finish unpacking their room. They had been in the new house for about a week now and slowly they were getting used to everything it was continuously a work in progress.

She frowned seeing a stack of papers she remembered finding when they had gone through Aaron’s office looking for the tapes. She forgot she had stuck them in one of the few boxes she had. As she looked over the papers again a few months later she decided to go downstairs to ask Lynn if she knew what they are. She still had no idea what Aaron’s Kidz was.

“Hey Lynn?” Veronica asked curiously waddling around the house. Lynn was in the living room watching one of the Housewife reality shows.

“Do you need help with anything?” Lynn asked looking over at Veronica who had a determined look on her face.

“No, I was just wondering something. I found these and I was curious to know what they are.” Veronica said setting the Aaron’s Kidz papers in front of Lynn.

Lynn looked at the papers for a minute before sighing heavily and turning the TV off.

“Does Logan know?” she asked quietly.

Veronica frowned and shook her head. “What are they?”

Lynn looked away from her wondering if she should tell her the truth.

“Logan has a half brother.” Lynn said finally.

“What?” Veronica asked her eyes almost bugging out of her head.

Lynn nodded, “Aaron had an affair with a stewardess before we were married. He got her pregnant and Logan has a brother who’s a few years older than him.” She said her voice heavy with resentment.

“We weren’t together at the time, but Aaron eventually told me about it when Logan was about five and I found the papers.” Lynn said heavily.

Veronica stared at her not knowing what to say.

“Please don’t tell Logan.” Lynn added grasping Veronica’s hand.

Just then they heard footsteps coming into the living room and without having to turn around Veronica knew it was her boyfriend. Veronica watched as Lynn grimaced and they both turned to look at the figure in the living room doorway.

“Don’t tell me what?” Logan asked suspiciously looking at her girlfriend and mother.

Veronica bit her lip and looked down at Lynn who seemed to have a deer caught in the headlights expression on her face.

“You have a brother.” Veronica said knowing Lynn was glaring at her. She could feel the older woman’s angry eyes penetrating through her skull.

Logan laughed staring at her incredulously. “What? Did mom get pregnant in high school or something? Did dad knock up some sixteen year old?” he mocked stepping more into the room.

“Aaron had an affair. You have an older brother.” Lynn said edgily. 

Logan stared at them for a minute not knowing what to say. “Figures, even from behind bars dad’s still fucking with my life.” He muttered before turning and walking out of the living room.

Once he was gone Lynn turned to Veronica anger written all over her face. “You had no business telling him that! When I tell you not to tell my son something, don’t. He’s my responsibility. You might be his girlfriend, but I am his mother. He didn’t need to know about Aaron’s indiscretions.” Lynn snapped getting off the couch and stalking away.

Veronica stood there feeling at a loss at what to do. She picked up the papers and went upstairs to find Logan knowing that he probably wasn’t in a very good mood.   
When she went upstairs she heard the shower going and figured he was in there. She went back to unpacking the rest of the boxes wondering what she should do. When the sound of the shower stopped she waited with baited breath wondering what she should say.

He came out of the bathroom a towel wrapped around his waist and she forgot momentarily what she was going to say, her mind only able to concentrate on his hot, wet, naked body.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine.” he began leaning down to kiss her before getting dressed.

“We can talk about it, if you want.” She said quietly.

He shook his head and went to their closest. “Nope. Daddy dearest is out of my life and I have no desire to meet any other child he may have fathered. Growing up with Trina was enough.” He said grabbing a t-shirt and pants before beginning to get dressed.

She watched him with hungry eyes before reminding herself she had to concentrate on helping him. “Are you sure? I mean when I—“

“Really Veronica! You, my mom, and our son are enough. Plus your dad, I think he’s starting to like me by the way. I don’t need to know any other offspring of Aaron’s. After everything that’s happened I’m not going to let Aaron screw with anything else in my life. He’s done enough damage.” He said sitting beside her on the floor and grabbing a box to unpack.

“It’s ok to talk about it.” She said quietly.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He said shortly. He sensed her opening her mouth to fight him on it so he leaned over and kissed her hard on the lips. Like every time they kissed her mind went completely blank. Their tongues tangled together and their kisses became more heated. He wrapped her up in his arms and carried her onto the bed making sure he kept her mind as far away from asking questions as he could. He just wanted to concentrate on her, nothing else existed in that moment, but her.


	46. The Distraction

Chapter 46 The Distraction

Logan was still sleeping when Veronica got up the next morning. They had parenting classes that day, but not for a few hours so Veronica let him continue to sleep as she went downstairs to get some breakfast. She was surprised when she walked into the kitchen to find Lynn up, reading a tabloid, and drinking her morning coffee.

Veronica wasn’t sure what to do, since the incident from last night was still fresh in her mind. Since the day they had met when Veronica came over for a play date with Logan at the age of twelve, Lynn had only ever been pleasant to Veronica, but after her outburst from last night Veronica was beginning to see what Logan had, had to put up with for all of these years. A very conflicted woman, who wanted to do right, but had no idea of who she was.

She tentatively entered the kitchen knowing that they were going to have to have a conversation at some point since they lived in the same house. Lynn looked up at Veronica and something flashed across her face that she couldn’t describe. The two women stared at each other uncomfortably and for a split second Veronica wondered if things were going to escalate into worse territory and Lynn would throw her out of the house.

“Have a seat, Veronica.” Lynn said nodding to the chair across from her.

Veronica came forward with trepidation and sat in the island chair waiting to see what would happen. Veronica wanted to apologize, but at the same time she was still reeling from Lynn wanting to keep secrets from Logan. Now that Aaron was gone, Veronica had thought that Lynn wanted to start over and for that to happen the secrets were going to have to stop.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you yesterday, but you have to understand I wanted to tell Logan about him when the time was right.” Lynn said apologetically.

Veronica sat there and waited for her to go on, but when she didn’t Veronica decided it was time for her to speak. “I know, it’s been difficult for you, but keeping secrets from Logan isn’t going to make things go away or fix them. I am sorry I told him, but you can’t seriously believe that I would keep something like that from him. I love him, I can’t lie to him.” She admitted softly.

Lynn smiled forlornly, “Sometimes you have to lie to your children, Veronica. I didn’t want Logan to know because we’re done with Aaron, that includes everything involved with him. Yes, we’ll live off of his money while he’s in jail and Logan will collect his Trust-fund when he turns twenty-one, as well as getting all of the profits from his father’s movies, but besides the money Aaron is out of our lives, that includes his children as well. I would’ve told Logan, eventually maybe years from now when he was ready. You saw what I said to Trina to keep her away from the two of you, the same can be said for this Charlie Stone.” Lynn said trying to make Veronica see where she was coming from.

“When you become a parent, Veronica, you’ll understand better. You want to protect your children from everything. You want them to be unharmed and safe. I recognize asking you to lie was harsh, but my main priority is taking care of Logan and making sure he lives a happy life whatever the price may be.” Lynn added staring across the island at Veronica.

“What about what Aaron did to him? Did you protect him then?” Veronica said without thinking.

Lynn regarded her through sad eyes and Veronica knew she’d said the wrong thing.

“I’ll admit, I haven’t been the best mother, but now that Aaron is out of our lives I intend to do better. Becoming a parent is hard Veronica, I can’t pretend to be all knowing or give you advice, but I can tell you that everything you thought you’d be and do for your child isn’t how it happens. I know you and Logan probably think you’ll love each other forever and the child will be the best person in the world, but sometimes life just has a habit of breaking you down until you are nothing. You can understand that, right? Nothing is ever how it seems.” Lynn said quietly looking away from Veronica and out the window.

“I trust you’ll take good care of Logan, Veronica, but remember people change and they grow. How we are at sixteen isn’t how we’ll be at thirty or fifty.” Lynn added standing up and giving her a desolate smile. 

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” Lynn added patting Veronica’s hand and then disappearing from the kitchen. Veronica sat there not knowing how to take what Lynn said. Eventually Logan came to join her for breakfast and then they went to go get ready for their parenting classes and the hospital tour. 

Veronica tried to ignore Lynn’s words as they drove to the hospital, but she couldn’t help thinking of them and what they truly meant. She knew Lynn was trying to be supportive, but Veronica wondered exactly how deep and terrible the mental and physical abuse Aaron had bestowed upon Lynn went. She wondered if Lynn actually thought all of those things were true or if years of being torn down had turned her into the shell of a person she was today. Veronica felt for the woman, but she still thought it was wrong to hide such a big thing from Logan. She felt Logan deserved better.

“What are you thinking about?” Logan asked studying her facial expression that he knew to be her pensive one at a stoplight.

“Last night.” She said quietly.

He leered at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “It still amazes me how bendy you are even though your carrying our child.” 

She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest making her enlarged breasts pop out in her V-neck sweater. She began to rant to Logan, but he wasn’t paying attention his sole focus completely focused on her plump breasts. It wasn’t until the car behind him honked did he finally press the acceleration.

“…I mean I don’t know what to do about your mom.” She finished not noticing in the slightest that Logan hadn’t been paying attention. 

He frowned noticing that she didn’t pick up on his less than attentive attitude. It wasn’t anything like her to miss details and usually she would’ve called him out by now for leering at her. “What?” he asked realizing she’d been talking about his mom.   
She turned and scowled at him.

“Have you been listening to me?” she asked irritably.

“Uh…” he said wondering if he should be honest or lie.

She huffed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Logan! I’m trying to talk to you.” 

“I’m sorry. I was driving.” He said pathetically.

“I was talking about your mom and what she said to me this morning.” She said quietly.

He glanced over at her, “what? What did she say?”

Veronica sighed heavily. “Just…are you upset she didn’t say anything about you having a brother?”

Logan glanced over at her and shrugged, “It’s not surprising.” He said nonchalantly.

“Not surprising? How?”

“I mean, that Aaron had kids with other women. It’s not surprising or weird. I don’t know. I mean, I’m more angry at my mom for lying to me and asking you not to tell me.” He said quietly pulling into the parking lot at the hospital. 

“You heard that part?”

He nodded and pulled into a parking spot. “I’m angry at my dad too. I don’t know I don’t want to talk about it. So I have a brother. Lots of people have brothers. So my parents won’t win any parental awards, big deal they both lost way before now.” 

She looked over at him and studied his face wondering if maybe he was just saying that to drop the subject.

“You’d tell me right? I mean, if you wanted to talk about it. I’m here if you do.” She said soothingly.

“Yeah I know, but I don’t want to talk about it. Mostly I just want to go get this class over with plus the tour, go home, and repeat our bed adventures from last night. I don’t want to think about my parents.” He said softly reaching over and taking her hand. 

She smiled briefly at the thought of last night and then sighed looking up at the hospital building. “I hate the women in these classes. They just ask me a bunch of questions about you.” 

He smirked and turned to her with a mischievous smile. “Come on, the sooner we get this over with the sooner I can get you naked and into bed again.” 

She shook her head in amusement. “You know I’m the size of a house right? I have stretch marks and I can’t even see my feet anymore, that’s how huge I am.” 

He kissed her softly on the lips and she sighed in contentment wanting to go further, but knowing they had places to be. “I still think you’re beautiful no matter what you look like – plus it’s an added bonus that you’re having my kid too that makes you even sexier – and I love you. Now let’s go, I’m ready to be done with this.” He said getting out of the car and coming around to help her down so they could go inside.

They went into the room for their class and like every time other parents curious about what was going on with Aaron and wanting to know about the trial accosted them. 

Since the arraignment was coming up soon Logan and Veronica had gained even more popularity in their Lamaze classes much to their chagrin. Veronica had even caught their picture being taken by one of the other moms and she’d politely explained to her that if that picture got out she and Logan would cheerfully sue them since they were minors. She also couldn’t help, but add in the fact that the Sheriff was her father and wasn’t so forgiving when things came to his daughter.

The class had gone much the same as it had in every other class they’d taken, except this time they were made to watch a birthing video at the end followed by a tour of the hospital. 

Logan and Veronica cuddled on the mat and sat patiently as the teacher set up the video. 

“Didn’t we have to watch this in health?” Logan asked curiously.

Veronica shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t taken it yet. I was supposed to take in with Lilly, but…” she trailed off and Logan tightened his hold around her.

“I took it.” He said quietly as the opening scenes began.

“Did you watch it?”

“I don’t know I skipped like every day to smoke with Dick, Casey, and Luke.” 

Veronica rolled her eyes and cuddled closer in to his side as the husband encouraged the wife to breathe. Angela began to explain what was going on and the more the movie went on the more nervous Veronica become. True, she had read the books and knew what happened in the delivery room, but as she watched the women go from composed to downright screaming she began to feel very afraid of what was to come. 

By the time the women began to push Veronica couldn’t look at the TV and instead she was paying attention to the other mother’s. Some of them looked unperturbed by the situation and others had their mouths open in horror. Veronica tried to mask her own feelings about seeing the birth video as the women began to scream even louder and the doctor announced that the baby was crowning. She concentrated on the video player below the TV until the movie was over and Angela asked if there were any questions. The entire room was silent and the tension was thick with nervousness after seeing the video. 

“Ok! Everyone who is going on the tour today please come with me.” She said walking past them and going to the door to the classroom. Logan stood up and helped Veronica up.

“So?” he asked hanging back so he could talk to her in private.

She shrugged, “Pretty much what I expected.” She lied hoping he wouldn’t see her fib.

He raised an eyebrow at her and slowly began to walk seeing that Angela was counting them to make sure everyone was there.

“Liar.” He mumbled taking her hand and pulling her along.

She frowned and chewed her lip tightening her hold on his hand.

“It’s ok to be scared.” He said quietly as they walked behind the other couples in the hospital tour group.

“I don’t want to talk about this now.” She said trying to ignore the echoes of the screams of the women from the TV. She couldn’t believe that she was going to have to do that in a few weeks.

“Veronica—“ 

“Shh Angela is talking.” Veronica said motioning to the front of the tour. 

Logan sighed and listened to Angela explain what they were going to have to do when they came into the hospital and what paperwork they could fill out before hand and what paper work they had to fill out after. She showed them the different rooms they could book and where the baby would be once it was born. As they went deeper into the hospital they began to hear screams and Veronica immediately stiffened up. She looked over at Logan and noted that he was just as pale.

“Oh everyone! Look! Someone is welcoming a new little human into this world!” Angela chirped indicating to a room where the screams could be heard.

Logan and Veronica exchanged looks as the screams got louder and Veronica really began to wonder what would happen when she finally gave birth. Would she scream like that? Would she be like the woman in the video? Her doctor already told her that since she was so tiny there might be complications and a C-section might have to be done. Regardless of all of it though, Veronica was scared shitless of labor.

They got home a few hours later having stopped for something to eat. Neither of them talked much both lost in their own thoughts. When they got home they went to the living room having decided to watch a movie. 

“You guys are home early.” Lynn said seeing them sitting on the couch. She was wearing her exercise clothes so they knew she’d just been working with Alfonso.

“We’ve been out most of the day.” Logan said neglecting to look at his mother still angry about the brother revelation.

Lynn sighed and sat down in one of the armchairs near Logan. She looked over at Veronica who made an excuse of going to the bathroom, which wasn’t entirely an excuse. 

When she was gone Lynn turned to Logan and put a hand on top of his resting on the couch arm.

“Logan, I know you’re angry at me.” She began.

“You think.” He mumbled pulling is hand from under hers.

“I am sorry, Logan, but you have to understand I was going to tell you eventually. I just didn’t think now was the right time with your father about to go in for his arraignment and how you were testifying. You aren’t in the best mindset to begin with and I just want to protect you.” Lynn said quietly.

Logan let out a bark of laughter and shook his head his eyes finally meeting hers. “Protect me? From the man that beat me most of my life? When were you then? Oh that’s right, you were there watching from behind your glass of vodka and your bottle of pills. I don’t need protecting, mom. I just need a parent who will at least tell me the truth. It seems to be so much to ask for in this family.” He said angrily.

“I know you’re angry Logan, but I was doing what is best for you. You’ll understand when you’re a parent.” 

“When I’m a parent I won’t lie to my kids.”

She was quiet for a moment searching his face to see if he could understand where she was coming from. “I’m sorry, Logan. I really am, but it is what it is. If you want to talk about it, I’m here, but just know that I had every intention of telling you eventually. Aaron’s out of our lives finally for good and I figured that since he is everyone that has to do with him is too. I want to start over as a family.” She said reaching out to touch his face.

He turned away and got off the couch ready to walk away. “I get that, mom, I do. I just I need time to process this.” He said before leaving the living room. Lynn watched him go unsure of if she should follow him or not. She decided against it knowing he needed time to digest what had just happened.

Logan left the living room and went upstairs to his bedroom wanting to just be alone for a few minutes. When he entered the bedroom he was surprised to find Veronica sitting on the bed with tears coming down her face. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked hurrying towards her and gently putting a soothing hand on her face.

She shook her head and hid her face not wanting him to see her cry.

“Veronica? What’s wrong?” he asked nervously. He wondered if she was that upset about what had happened between him and his mother or whether he did something he wasn’t aware of yet.

She let out a sob and he folded her into his arms and gently began to rock her. She was quiet for a long time and just cried. When she finally calmed down he asked again what was wrong.

“I can’t do it.” She whimpered.

“Can’t do what?” he asked confused over her crying.

He felt disconcerted since she was so strong and generally never cried over anything, he wondered if it was hormones and maybe she saw another sad animal commercial. Those always seemed to get her going.

“Labor. That woman on the video and then at the hospital! I just don’t think I can do it.” She said shaking her head.

Logan pulled away from her and looked down at her tear stricken face. “Ronnie, come on you’re the strongest person I know. If anyone can get through this you can and besides I’ll be there the whole time holding your hand and cheering you on.” He said thinking about what the husband in the video had done. Truth be told though he wasn’t sure how he was going to get through watching her in so much pain for hours on end. If he had trouble with her crying watching her scream, cry, and curse, was going to be torture.

“You’re just saying that because you have to.” She sniffed wiping her eyes.

He smiled slightly and pulled her closer kissing her on top of the forehead. “Maybe. Or else I’m saying it because it’s true and I love you.” he said.

She was quiet for a minute and he noticed her breathing had finally calmed down. “What if I can’t do it though? What if—“

“Veronica, you can do this. Don’t ever think differently. You’ve helped me so much in the last few months with my dad I’ve seen your strength and your bravery, you’re going to do fine.” he said caressing her cheek.

She nodded once and then leaned into him. “How’d it go with your mom?” she asked wanting to change the subject.

“She tried to talk to me about it.”

“What’d she say?”

“That she was sorry.”

Veronica was silent not knowing what to say. She felt for Lynn, but she would side with Logan in a heartbeat. Besides she didn’t condone Lynn lying when she was trying to rebuild a life for them.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

They sat silently wrapped around each other both lost to their own demons. Logan couldn’t help, but wonder about his brother and what his mother had said and Veronica’s mind played on repeat the birthing video.

“We’ll be ok, right?” she asked needing reassurance on her worries, his, and the ticking time bomb that was the birth.

“Yeah.” He said pulling her closer and kissing her hard needing his own reassurance he pulled her down to the bed and they got lost in each other both needing a distraction from their lives. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Logan woke up early and decided to go surfing. Once he was finished he went back home and was surprised to see his mom in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Where’s Mrs. Navarro?” he asked watching his mother try to make eggs.

“I gave her the day off.” She said.

“And you decided to cook?”

She sighed heavily and glanced over at him with a melancholy expression on her face. “I wanted to talk to you about Charlie again.” She said turning the stove off and dumping the eggs into the trash since they were a weird combination of burnt and runny.

He shook his head and turned away not wanting a repeat of the day before. 

“Logan, please, I need you to understand why I didn’t want you to know. Please forgive me.” She said reaching out to stop him.

“Fine. Whatever. I forgive you ok.” He said throwing his hands up and moving out of the kitchen. He stopped though and turned around needing to add one last thing.

“But I don’t forgive you for asking Veronica to lie to me.” He said before walking away and out of the kitchen. Lynn watched helplessly as her only son walked away from her and she knew this wouldn’t be the last time this happened.


	47. The Arraingment

Chapter 47 The Arraignment

“What the hell is that?” Veronica demanded upon seeing Logan enter their bedroom with a mini yellow surfboard. She glared at the thing in menacingly as if it was going to attempt an attack on her at any moment.

“Wow, Veronica, how long have you lived in California?” he mocked raising an eyebrow at her.

She scowled at him from her position on the bed propped up by pillows and cuddled under the blankets watching the TV.

“I’m serious, Logan. Why do you have that thing?” she asked looking back at the TV and trying not to wince at what she had just been watching. On the screen sat a woman frozen in labor her face a mix of horrified and sweaty from the exhaustion of pushing and her terrified husband next to her trying to be encouraging.

“What the hell are you watching?” he asked ignoring her question and following her line of sight. He stared at the screen seeing the frozen image trying to process why it was on their bedroom TV, surely she had gotten enough of watching women give birth in the last week in their class. Why did she have to bring it into their bedroom? Was this karma for buying a surfboard without asking?

Veronica shifted and frowned feeling affronted by his tone. “Labor video.” She said shortly.

“Why? Didn’t you get enough of that torture in class?” he asked setting the board down and coming to sit beside her on the bed.

She glowered over at the surfboard leaning against the wall and then at Logan. “Don’t think you’re getting off that easy! Why do you have the surfboard? And then maybe I’ll tell you why I’m watching the video again.”

“So you do know what it is! You really are a Californian girl.” He quipped smirking at her deepening scowl.

“Logan.”

“Veronica.”

They glared at each other waiting for the other to say something. Predictably Logan caved first.

“I bought Marsden a surfboard.” He said with a shrug as if it was no big deal.

Veronica stared at him incredulously, “He’s not even born yet, Logan! Why did you have to buy him a surfboard?”

“Because all the other baby toys looked boring. Look, Ronnie, I want to teach our kid to surf, is that so bad?”

“When he’s not even out of the womb yet, it is. Can’t he learn to walk first or at the very least swim? They have swimming classes you know, why don’t we start there?”

“Because swimming isn’t surfing.”

“But you need to know how to swim so you can surf.”

Logan looked at the board longingly and then back at Veronica with big brown puppy dog eyes. She scowled and looked away from him gritting her teeth.

“Whatever.” She mumbled turning away.

“Does that mean I can keep it for when he’s ready?” Logan asked smirking at her response.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe yes?”

“Maybe as in maybe.”

“So should I sign us up for baby swimming classes?” he asked eagerly.

“Sign us up? No. Sign yourself and Marsden up. Yes. That can be father son time activity.” She said looking back at the TV and going to press play.

Logan stared at her momentarily stunned at the fact that he was going to be having ‘father son time’ soon. He had never had father son time of any type since his dad was a sociopathic murdering asshole. Even when his dad was just the movie star Aaron Echolls he never had any time for him unless it was for publicity or magazine shoots. Logan wasn’t even sure if he could handle father son time when he had so little knowledge about it.

“Why are you watching this?” he asked reaching for the remote to pause it again.

She shrugged continuing to stare at the TV.

“Veronica? Why are you watching this?” he asked again waiting for her to respond.

“Because I want to be prepared.” She answered finally.

“Are you still scared about the labor?” he asked worriedly. In the last week since her previous freak out he thought they were over this. She hadn’t said anything more to him about labor or her worries, so what was happening now? He didn’t like that she was keeping her fears from him when he told her so much. He wanted to help make things better for her not be clueless as to what was going on. He wanted to relieve her of her reservations and doubts like she did with him.

She shrugged in a noncommittal way and he knew that was her way of saying yes.

“Veronica, Ronnie, you’re going to do fine. I’ll be with you every step of the way. I promise.” He said trying to make her understand. 

“But what if something bad happens?” she whispered in concern.

“Then I’ll be there to save the day.” He said as if it were obvious.

She smiled slightly, “My hero.”

“Always.” He said leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips. Then he reached for the remote and turned the movie off thinking their conversation was done.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. Despite his words, she still had her misgivings about the labor and every time she thought too much about it she freaked out. Even though Logan had calmed her down this time she knew that he’d have to do it again and again. It seemed the closer the time came the more she was freaking out. She just hoped that something Logan said would get through to her and maybe by the time she actually faced labor she’d be strong enough to go through with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later Veronica found herself looking through her maternity clothes for something nice to wear. Today was the day of Aaron’s second arraignment. They hadn’t gone to the first since it was only three days after he had been arrested for attempted murder on Lynn, Veronica, and the unborn baby. None of them could stomach going to the first arraignment especially with everyone in their current condition, but this one was much more important. This one would determine if he was pleading guilty or not, when his actual trial would be set, as well as if he was getting bail or not. 

Logan and Lynn had already talked to the lawyers and they knew he was going to plead not guilty. Logan had no real interest in going since the last time he’d seen his father was when he visited him in jail and that turned out really badly, but Lynn wanted them to go so they could understand what was going on and to truly make sure he wasn’t going to be allowed to post bail. 

“Ronnie are you ready?” Logan asked coming into the room and trying to tie his tie.

“Almost.” She said looking between a printed black and white maternity dress and a yellow one. She glanced over at Logan and saw he was struggling with his tie. She moved towards him and helped him fix it noting that his hands were trembling badly. She gave him a gentle smile and kissed him lovingly on the mouth.

“I love you.” She whispered giving him an extra kiss to drive her point home. He smiled and kissed her back feeling giddy like he did every time she said it. He still couldn’t used to her saying it, but he enjoyed hearing it because of how much it meant to him. Rarely in his life had people actually said they loved him and meant it, but with her he knew without a doubt that she did. She wouldn’t say it if she didn’t mean it, that wasn’t who she was.

“I love you too.” He purred in her ear wanting her to feel as good as he felt when she uttered those words to him just like when he said it to her. He glanced down at the two dresses. “Black and white one.” He added and she nodded putting it on with help from him. Once they were dressed they descended the stairs to find Lynn looking nervous in the living room. 

“Are you two ready?” she asked looking up when they came down the stairs.

They nodded and they piled into the limo. The drive to the courthouse was stiff and silent and Logan was holding Veronica’s hands tightly within his. When they got out of the limo the media accosted them with various questions about Aaron. Logan helped maneuver his mother and Veronica through the crowd until they reached the courthouse steps and were greeted by Keith who took his daughter by her arms and helped cover her from news people while Logan helped cover his mother. When the four of them were finally in the courthouse they made their way to the largest courtroom. Nothing was said as they slipped into the crowded courtroom and saw Aaron at the front in hand cuffs accompanied by his team of lawyers.

“How are you, honey?” Keith asked quietly sitting on the outside of the bench. Veronica sat beside him with Logan on her left and Lynn on his other side.

“Fine.” she said edgily eyeing Aaron at the front of the room. She felt sickened at the thought of him getting off for both an attempted murder on her and the actual murder of Lilly Kane, but she knew they had a long way to go before he reached his trial.

They rose as the judge came into the room and he rapped his mallet to begin the arraignment. First Aaron’s team took they’re stand explaining that he would never hurt his family or his grandchild. Logan let out a loud snort at that and a few people looked over at them curiously. Veronica saw Aaron’s shoulder stiffen and she knew that he knew it was Logan who had made that incredulous sound. Aaron’s team claimed that they were pleading not guilty.

Once Aaron’s team was finished the Defense began to explain why Aaron was guilty and shouldn’t get bail. After a few minutes of deliberation the judge announced that Aaron would be kept in jail without bail and his trial would begin on October sixth only a few days after the first anniversary of Lilly Kane’s death. With that the arraignment was adjourned. Veronica made to move around her father to leave the courtroom not wanting to be in there any longer, but Keith grabbed her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze to stop her.

“I need to talk to Lynn. How about you and Logan go wait in the lobby? I’ll see you tonight for dinner.” He said kissing her forehead and then moving out of the way so Logan could follow after Veronica. 

The two teens waited in the lobby curious to know what their parents were talking about.

“Maybe your dad wants to give us extra security.” Logan guessed leaning against the wall.

Veronica shrugged moving back and fourth in her shoes cursing silently her stupidity for wearing such uncomfortable shoes when her feet were the size of balloons.

“I don’t really care. I just want to go home.” She mumbled curling herself into his side and trying to figure out a way to get most of the weight off her feet. Logan sensed his distress and was about to move to pick her up when they were approached by a young man with brown hair, brown eyes, and a five o’clock shadow. He looked between Logan and Veronica cautiously as if sizing them up. Logan stood up straighter and moved Veronica closer to him not knowing who this person was and whether he should take precautions for protecting her against this stranger.

“Are you Logan Echolls?” the man asked curiously.

Logan glared at the brunette man thinking this person was media or Pap. “Depends on who’s asking. If you’re media then no I’m not interested and if you are a crazed Aaron Echolls fan then fuck off. He’s guilty.”

The brunette man blinked and looked over at Veronica who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“I uh…never mind.” The guy said moving away and walking down the lobby.

Veronica and Logan shared a look confused by the interaction, but they didn’t dwell on it too long since Lynn and Keith had just emerged from the courtroom. The foursome left to courthouse and went back onto the overcrowded steps. Keith made a statement followed by Lynn and then they went back to the Echolls estate for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night as Keith and Veronica talked quietly in the kitchen Lynn used that as an opportunity to seek out Logan. She found him in the gaming room playing one of the overly violent videogames he was so fond of.

“Logan, can we talk?” Lynn asked anxiously.

Logan glanced up at her and sighed heavily. “If it’s about dad or Charlie, then no.” he said.

“Logan, please.” Lynn said coming further into the room.

“Mom, I don’t want to talk about today. It’s over. Aaron’s going to jail and we won’t have to deal with the trial for, like five months.”

“Are you ok, though? With everything that’s happening?” Lynn asked concerned.

Logan shrugged, “What’s happening? Dad’s a psycho. I already knew that.” 

“I just mean with your own impending fatherhood and how today went in court? Are there any feelings you want to explore?” she asked sitting on the couch beside h  
him.

Logan let out a choke of laughter and paused the videogame. “Feelings? Wow mom just because you’ve played a psychiatrist on TV doesn’t mean you actually can psychoanalysis me.” He said.

“Logan.” She warned.

“I’m fine. Really. I figure I can’t be any worse of a father than dad is.” 

“But are there any feelings you want to explore? Is everything ok between you and Veronica?” she pushed.

“Why are you asking me this now? Why didn’t you ask me this years ago when dad was… listen I’m fine.” he said dismissively. He stood up and turned off the game before retreating to his room. She sighed and put a hand to the bridge of her nose knowing that eventually he was going to come around, but did that time have to be so far away? She hoped that once the baby was born he’d finally understand what it was to be a parent and by concerned for a child so he’d talk to her. 

She got up and went back towards the kitchen to talk with Keith and Veronica. She stopped right before she entered though and listened with jealousy as Keith and Veronica laughed together genuinely enjoying the other’s company. She wondered why she didn’t have that with her own son and she wondered not for the first time what she’d done wrong.


	48. The Crib

Chapter 48 The Crib

Logan looked around the nursery feeling pleased with himself. He, who had been called a rich spoiled brat on more than one occasion throughout his life had put the baby’s room together all by himself. The last thing he had to conquer, however, was the baby’s crib, which was proving to be more difficult than he’d previously thought. When he looked at the crib he had figured it would be pretty easy to put together. Granted, he’d never put anything besides his gaming station together in his life, but really how hard could putting a crib together be?

All of the gifts that had been given to them had already been arranged around the room and now all that remained was the crib. The dreaded crib that seemed to have the directions written in Japanese with even worse images showing what part went where.

“Are you still working on that?” Veronica asked a smirk on her face watching as he fought with the different pieces and parts. 

“I’m almost done.” Logan said looking at the pieces in front of him. Nothing had been put together and being almost done was a downright lie.

“Really? Cause last time I checked the crib should actually be put together to warrant an ‘almost done.’” She said coming further into the nursery. She looked around   
with interest at how well Logan had put everything together. She was proud that he’d done all of it by himself, even if she’d tried to get him to ask her dad for help.

“Do you want to try?” he asked annoyance lacing his voice.

She grinned and came further into the room. She eased herself onto the ground with his help and looked at the directions. She began to try and follow them, but she   
had just about as much luck as Logan did.

“It’s not so easy is it?” he mocked earning him a glare.

“Just hand me that piece.” She said trying to get comfortable on the ground, but every way she tried to move her body caused her to grow more uncomfortable.

“Veronica, maybe you shouldn’t be sitting on the floor.” Logan protested noticing her pained expression.

“I’m fine. Hand me some of the tools.” She said waving to the toolbox on the other side of him.

“No. Seriously. I don’t think you should be sitting on the floor. Are you ok?” 

“Stop! I’m not glass. Just hand me the toolbox. I’ll put the crib together.”

“No, I’ll put it together. Just go sit down on the bed and watch a movie or something.” He said moving to grab the pieces from her hands. She elbowed him out of the   
way and turned pulling the pieces to her chest so he didn’t get them.

“Veronica! Hand them over!” he yelled trying to move around her.

“Logan, just let me help! I don’t want to watch anymore movies! I feel like a beached whale! Stop, Logan! Just let me help!” she yelled trying to move out of his reach,   
but she was too big and couldn’t move that far. She cursed under her breath and nearly elbowed Logan in the face trying to keep the pieces from him.

“Veronica! I can do it!” He said grabbing the pieces from her hands and attempting to put them together himself.

“No. That piece doesn’t go there! Look at the directions!” she exclaimed grabbing the booklet and waving it in his face.

“I don’t need the directions. I can do it myself. Besides the directions are written in Farsi.” He snarked finally getting the pieces to fit and then moving on to the next   
two pieces.

“Logan! No! You have to follow the directions! What if you put it together wrong? What if it collapses and smashes the baby?” She yelled shoving the directions under his nose.

He dropped the pieces and then threw the directions into the corner before going back to putting them together.

“Logan!” she snapped. “Why do you have to be such an asshole?” she asked struggling to get up so she could go get the directions.

“Veronica, just go sit down somewhere more comfortable. I can do this.” He said moving to help her. She glared at him and grabbed the rocking chair to help pull her to her feet. He watched for a moment as she struggled and then bent down to help, but right as he moved forward she moved back and her head connected with his   
face. He let out a string of curses and held his nose. She looked over her shoulder and let out a shriek seeing blood pouring down his nose.

“Are you ok?” she asked nervously still on her knees trying to get herself up.

Logan glared at her, but he leaned forward and put his hands under her armpits to hoist her up. Once she was steady on her feet he left the nursery to go clean up.   
She stood in the middle of the room feeling guilty and tentatively moved to grab the discarded directions. By the time he came back she had put together a few of the other pieces and he sat down beside her carefully.

“Are you ok?” she asked looking over to see he’d cleaned up and stopped the bleeding.

“Fine.” 

“Are you angry?” she asked quietly.

He glared at her and grabbed a few other pieces. They worked in relative silence until the crib was finally put together. Logan helped her up once again and they stood back admiring their handiwork.

“Do you think it’s safe?” she asked leaning forward to look inside of it.

“I don’t know. It’s not like we can test it out.” He said grabbing the mobile and beginning to attach it to the crib.

“Logan…” she said quietly.

“What?” 

“You need to move the bars down. I will have to drop him in and that’ll wake him up.” She said demonstrating how she was too short to reach to the mattress.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s going to be in a bassinet in our room, that’s what the books suggested.” He said nonchalantly.

“What do you mean? I thought we decided on him sleeping in the crib.”

“Yeah when he gets a little older. They’re so small when they come out the crib might be too big for them.” He said.

“But—“

“Besides we’ll have to be getting up and down with him anyway a bassinet is the best.” He said knowledgably.

She blinked, opened her mouth to respond, and then shrugged. “Ok.” She said and then turned to leave the nursery not ready to have another argument at the moment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night they went over to Dick’s who was having a few people over namely them, Mac, Wallace, and a few other people who he deemed worthy enough to invite over. Since Duncan was still not talking to Logan he had declined the invite. At first Veronica didn’t want to go, but then Logan nagged her about it until she agreed. She figured that this would be the last time they went out for awhile, so why not make the most of it. 

She and Logan arrived at nine o’clock and Dick greeted them.

“Woaw Ronnie! You look like you’re about to pop.” He exclaimed upon seeing them.

Veronica glared and pushed past him into the house. Logan shot Dick a look and Dick shrugged.

“What? She is! I can’t believe how big she is! She was so small.” Dick said earning a smack from Veronica who was still listening.

“Is Mac here, yet?” she asked looking around the house.

“Living room. We’re watching one of those scary movies and drinking.” Dick said.

“What happened to the infamous Dick extravaganzas?” Logan asked wrapping an arm around Veronica and leading her further into the house.

Dick shrugged, “I figured since we have a pregnant chick, it would be low key.” He said nodding to Veronica who scowled.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She protested.

“Kinda did. No one wants to party with a pregnant girl.” Dick said with a shrug. “I tried to get other people to come, but…” he trailed off.

Veronica frowned and looked up at Logan with a pout. “I can leave if you want. So you guys can have fun.” She said quietly damning her hormones for making her   
angry and then sad at how no one wanted to be around her.

“It’s fine, sugarpuss.” He mumbled kissing her on the forehead and then landing one on her lips.

“Come on.” Dick said directing them into the living room where Mac, Beaver, Wallace, and Georgia sat.

“Where’s Duncan?” Veronica asked looking over at Meg who sat by herself.

Meg gave her an apologetic look at glanced at Logan. “He’s still…” she trailed off.

Veronica nodded and sat next to Wallace and Mac who offered her a soda.

“No. She’s drinking water.” Logan said receiving a glare from his girlfriend.

“I can have one soda, Logan.”

“You didn’t drink a lot of water today.” He pointed out and she took the offered water begrudgingly.

Dick made a whipping sound and both Veronica and Logan glared.

“So you’re about due, right?” Wallace asked eyeing her stomach.

“Yeah. Three weeks.” She said patting her stomach. 

“How’s Duncan?” Logan asked going to sit next to Meg. Meg looked over at him sadly.

“He’s still dealing with your dad and Lilly and everything.” She said quietly looking back and forth between Veronica and Logan. “I know it’s been a few months, but   
it’s like all he ever talks about. He’s been…pretty catatonic.” She added.

Veronica and Logan exchanged looks thinking of their old friend. Veronica wished things were different, she knew how much Logan missed having Duncan as a friend, but she didn’t know of any other way to help him deal with it. She just hoped that they could forgive each other and hopefully become friends again.

The night was spent watching movies, drinking, and making fun of everyone. By the time they left Logan had to help Veronica out of the house because she was so tired. She fell asleep on the way home and Logan had to wake her despite not wanting to.

“Did you have fun?” he asked helping her inside.

She nodded and yawned. “I’m glad we went.” She mumbled resting her head on his shoulder.

Logan smiled and kissed her still unable to fully grasp how he had gotten so lucky to be with her. He tucked her into bed, helping her out of her clothes before giving her another kiss and closing his own eyes.

He was awoken in the middle of the night by crying and it took him a minute to realize it wasn’t in his dream. His opens snapped open and he looked over at Veronica whose back was to him. She was trembling all over and he gently moved against her and spooned her body against his. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her close to his body wanting to offer comfort.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.

“Dream.” She mumbled between soft cries.

He let out a sigh and tightened his hold on her. He rested his forehead against the back of her neck and rubbed circles on her back trying to get her to calm down.

“Are you ok?” he whispered when she seemed to stop shaking at least a little.

“Logan, what if we mess this up?” she asked turning around in his arms so she could see his face.

He sighed knowing this was a very real issue for her. “What’s bothering you? What was your dream about?” he asked wanting to get to the root of the problem.

She was quiet for awhile trying to gather her thoughts. “We were at that playground we used to go to, remember? We were twelve and playing tag, but then we were   
older and…we were arguing like how my parents used to and Marsden was hiding in his room. He kept asking me why we were so messed up? Why did we have to be   
our parents? Then I was in labor and…” she swallowed and he could see her tears glistening in the moonlight.

“And I died. Lilly met me in heaven, but I told her I wanted to come back to you. She told me that you’d forgotten me and…” she began to cry harder and Logan tugged her forward so her forehead was resting against his chest. He felt her tears wetting his skin and he kissed her on the forehead, on her temple, then rested his forehead on her head.

“I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you.” he whispered running a hand down her back soothingly then resting it on her bump and doing the same thing. 

“What if I die in labor though? Promise me that you’ll take care of Marsden.” 

“Veronica you aren’t going to die in labor.”

“Logan, promise me. Seriously.”

“Veronica—“

“Seriously Logan. Say it. If you die I want you to take care of Marsden.” She said tightening her grip on him and trying to get him to say the words.

He rolled his eyes thankful that it was dark and then promised her. She nodded and fell silent the only sounds were their breathing. 

“I know you’re scared, but Veronica we aren’t our parents. We can do this. We love each other and I know it’s going to take a lot of work, but I’m committed. I’ve grown pretty attached to you so I’m not going anywhere and this labor thing? It’s a piece of cake. Think of everything else we’ve been through already. Think of how we survived Lilly, telling our parents, my dad, your mom, my shitty behavior, Duncan. We gone through all of this, we can get through labor too. I love you a lot, more than I ever thought possible. Everyone I’ve ever known doesn’t even measure up to you? We’re Epic, ok?”

She snorted pulling away, “you had me until Epic? How are we Epic?”

“Come on, Ronnie. Our story is Epic. Boy meets girl. Girl dates best friend. Boy dates her best friend. Her best friend dies. Everyone goes insane. Girl gets pregnant.   
Lives are ruined. Blood is shed. They fall in love. Age old story.”

“How is any of that Epic?”

“Because our story spans years, continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. We’re Epic.” 

“Well we have the lives ruined and bloodshed part right, but spanning continents? Really Logan.”

“We’ve spanned years.” He pointed out.

She bit her lip to keep the smile that threatened to appear off her face. “Do you really want to be Epic, though? I mean what about normal?”

“What’s so good about normal? That’s too easy. Who wants easy? I enjoy a challenge and I know you do too, otherwise why would you be with me?” he asked kissing her on the nose.

She grinned and leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his. Their lips moved together in unison and she opened her mouth invitation. She nipped at his bottom lip and took his tongue into her mouth sucking on it in the way she knew he loved. When she came up for air she moved to his neck pressing wet open mouth kisses along the column.

“You know, no one writes songs about the ones that comes easy.” She mumbled before returning her lips back to his. She felt him smile against her mouth and he rolled her on top of him so they could further their exploration of each other’s body.


	49. The Birth

Chapter 49 The Birth

“Stop.” Logan said waving the hand that kept taping on his arm away. He rolled on to his stomach and snuggled back into the bed wanting to return to the pleasant dream he was having of him and Veronica on the beach naked and reenacting the scene from Here to Eternity. 

“Logan.” A voice whined in his ear and continued to tap on his arm.

One eye popped open and he looked towards the voice that was so close to him he could feel her breath whispering across his skin. He shivered despite himself and huddled closer to the body. 

“What?” he snapped looking at Veronica who was pouting.

“I’m hungry.” She complained looking at him with big blue eyes.

He groaned, and rolled back over pretending he hadn’t heard her.

“Looooogaaaaan.” She whined wrapping her arms around him and shaking his whole torso to get him out of bed.

“What?” he asked again trying to get out of her embrace and get back under the warmth, but Veronica saw where he was going and yanked the blankets off of him. He let out a yelp as the cold air hit his bare skin and he glared at her holding the blankets in her lap and far away from him.

“I want cream puffs.” She stated.

“Get them yourself.” He told her reaching for the blankets, but he stopped immediately sensing that he had said the wrong thing. She glowered at him and he noticed her bottom lip wobbling.

“But it’s dark and cold and I want the ones from the bakery on Peach street!” She sulked.

He frowned and sighed heavily knowing that he was going to be getting up to go get the cream puffs for the woman he loved.

“Besides it’s your fault I’m pregnant so be a good boyfriend and go get them.” She said laying back down in bed beside him and fluttering her eyelashes.

He scowled and opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it. He looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table and saw that it was only 6:30.

“Fine.” he grunted and got out of the bed before grabbing his boxers, some jeans, and a t-shirt before stomping out of the room. She beamed at him happy that he was doing what she asked, but in all honesty when did he not do what she asked.

“Chocolate ones, please!” she yelled after him. She cuddled into the blankets, and rolled onto the warm spot he left behind before drifting back to sleep.

It only felt like a few minutes since Logan left when Veronica was awoken by a twinge in her lower back. She rolled over onto her back not thinking much of it until the pain increased. She looked over at the alarm clock and grunted seeing that it had only been thirty minutes since Logan had went to get her cream puffs.

She had been experiencing Braxton-Hicks for the last few days and just figured that they were some more of those, so she didn’t worry too much. Suddenly a sharp pain that she’d never felt before hit her and she let out a pained noise. That one had been longer than the Braxton-Hicks ones.  
She rolled off the bed and went in search of Lynn wanting to know whether or not she should be worried. She waddled her way downstairs yelling for Lynn, but when she got to the kitchen she saw the note on the refrigerator.

‘Went out with Alfonso for a run be back later.’

Veronica frowned staring at the note and then let out a small sigh trying to clear her mind to figure out what she should do. Her first instinct was to call her dad, but her dad wouldn’t know what to do either. She bit her lip wishing not for the first time that her mother was there. She knew Mrs. Navarro nor the rest of the staff were due until eight, so she wasn’t sure what she should do. She decided that she might as well call her doctor to figure out the next steps and to get some more information.

“Good morning, Veronica.” The doctor answered on the fifth ring. 

“I think I’m going into labor.”

“Are you sure you aren’t experiencing Braxton-Hicks?”

“The pain is more intense and – oh! Um…my water just broke.” Veronica stuttered staring at the pool beneath her feet on the kitchen floor. She blinked rapidly trying to remain calm, but as she looked at the liquid at her feet she felt a sudden disgust and anxiety take over her. She cursed herself for wanting cream puffs so early or else Logan would be here with her, helping her through this. She suddenly felt hot tears well up in her eyes and she closed them trying to remain calm.

“Alright, Veronica, I need you to get your bag and have someone drive you to the hospital. Don’t panic, everything will be fine. I’ll be there when you get here.” The doctor said calmly. 

Veronica took a deep breath and nodded before saying a quiet ‘ok’ and then hung up the phone. She stood numbly in the kitchen for a minute before taking a deep breath and counting down from ten, like she did in intense situations. Right as she reached five though she felt what she now knew to be a contraction hit her. When it was finished she attempted to clean up the pool on the floor, but didn’t get too far with it since it was difficult to bend down. When she was done cleaning she waddled back to their bedroom, and changed into a pair of sweat pants and one of Logan’s t-shirts before grabbing her bag. She stood in their room for a minute looking around to see if she missed anything. When she thought she had everything she went to the house phone and dialed Logan’s number. He answered on the first ring.

“I’m coming back now. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” He teased into the phone knowing she was probably going crazy from lack of cream puffs.

“How far are you?” she asked wondering if she should tell him or not.

“Like fifteen minutes.” 

“Ok.” She said sighing.

“Is everything ok?” he asked noting how relieved she sounded at hearing that he was close.

“Yeah just…yeah.” She said not wanting to tell him she was in labor yet for fear that he would get into an accident.

“Just hurry.” She added before hanging up. She took a deep breath and then grabbed a sweater before dropping her bag in the hallway and then going into the nursery   
to make sure everything was put together. She looked through the various items they had received as presents then she tested out the bassinet to see how well it   
rocked, then she touched the crib to make sure it was sturdy.

“Ok, I can do this.” She whispered putting a hand on her stomach and then firmly nodding.

She turned around and walked out of the nursery grabbing her bag as she walked downstairs.

She was outside leaning against the fountain in the circular driveway when Logan pulled up. 

He frowned seeing her outside and watched as she hurried to the passenger side of the car to get in.

“Are you that eager for cream puffs? You know I only got, like four.” He said handing her the bag.

She shook her head and held her breath despite what she was told to do as another contraction hit her.

“Veronica? What’s wrong?” he asked noting the pain on her face.

“We have to go to the hospital.” She squeaked out as the contraction passed.

“What? Why? Are you in labor?” he asked alarmed.

She nodded stiffly casting him a nervous look and he stared at her as if not fully grasping what was going on.

“Logan, hospital, please! I am not having this kid in your yellow monstrosity.” She begged putting a hand on his arm.

He nodded quickly and turned to put the car into drive. “Wait! Do you have your bag?”

She nodded.

“And what about my mom? Where is she?”

“Running with Alfonso. We can call everyone later.” Veronica snapped.

Logan nodded and then pulled out of the driveway. Logan tried to keep under the speed limit, but it was difficult when he saw Veronica wince every now and again.   
Finally after what seemed liked forever they pulled into the hospital parking lot. Logan let Veronica out at the front and then he parked the car trying to remain calm. He knew he was no good to Veronica if he was falling apart like she was. He could already see her resolve slowly shrinking away with the snippy remarks and the lack of witty quips. He knew he had to stay strong for her and help her through the next few hours. 

When he hurried into the hospital he saw her filling out paperwork and he took it from her to finish so she could be admitted. They had luckily filled out most of their paperwork in advanced and Lynn had booked them a private room. They got their wristbands and then were escorted to their room. Their doctor met them there with a smile on her face and helped Veronica change and get into the bed. She checked her progress.

“You’re at about one centimeter, Veronica so you have a ways to go.” The doctor said calmly. “Have you decided on an Epidural?” she added.

Veronica nodded, “Yeah, Epidural please.” 

The doctor nodded. “Alright, get comfortable you’ll be here for awhile.” She said then left.

Logan and Veronica shared a look. 

“Can I have my cream puffs now?” she demanded reaching a hand out to him. 

He chuckled and handed her the bag placing a kiss on her forehead, “of course, bobcat. Let me call your dad and my mom.” He said giving her another kiss on her lips.

She nodded digging into the bag. He moved to leave the room, but she stopped him with a hand to his wrist.

“Stay with me?” she asked shyly.

He nodded and sat in the uncomfortable hospital furniture in the room. He took out his phone and texted his mom before calling Keith. It rang a few times and then the Sheriff picked up.

“Good morning, Logan.” Keith greeted.

“Hey, um…Veronica is in labor.” Logan stuttered the words sounding surreal to him.

Keith was silent for a minute, “when was she admitted?”

“About an hour ago.”

Keith chuckled and began to speak, but Logan wasn’t paying attention. He glanced over at Veronica who had a bit of cream on her nose. He smirked and swiped the   
cream off her nose before sticking it in his mouth. She stuck her tongue out at him and he made an inappropriate gesture with his index and middle finger and his own wiggling tongue. She blushed at him turning away, and he chortled at how red she was turning. 

“…be there after work.” Keith finished drawing Logan back to the present.

“Sounds good.” Logan said having no idea what Keith had said.

“Can I speak with Veronica?” Keith asked and Logan handed her the phone.

“Dad.” Veronica greeted taking another bit of cream puff and strategically not looking over at Logan.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Good, I’m only at one centimeter.” She said.

“Ok, well I told Logan I’d be there after work so I’ll see you around five, ok?”

“Will I still be there by then?” she asked bewildered.

Keith chuckled, “you’re mother was in labor for almost a full day, Veronica so yes after nine hours I’m sure you won’t be that far along.” Keith said and Veronica   
gulped in alarm. Sure, she’d read that labor took a long time, but the thought of staying in one place in the amount of pain she was in was unfathomable.

“Ok see you then.” She said and told him she loved him before hanging up the phone.

She went back to eating her cream puff and Logan turned on the TV so they had something to do. They spent most of the day watching mindless TV and talking. Logan tried to do whatever he could to keep her mind off the pain she was going through, but it was difficult to watch her in pain and not be able to do anything about it. 

The day seemed to go by at a snail’s pace and nothing seemed to change. It was exhausting to be so wound up and anxious, but have everything move so slow. It seemed every time the doctor came in Veronica hadn’t dilated more than half a centimeter. At around five there was a knock on the door and Keith came in carrying a large stuffed pony.

“Look what I brought my grandson!” Keith exclaimed proudly.

Veronica gave her father an exhausted smile and held out her arms for a hug. Keith hugged her first and then turned to Logan offering him a handshake.

“Where’s Lynn?” he asked.

“She stopped by earlier. She told us to call her when the baby was born.” Logan said running a hand through his hair feeling tired from the strain of the day.

“How far along are you?” Keith asked curiously looking down at Veronica who winced noticeably as a contraction hit her.

“Four centimeters.” Logan said answering for her as she breathed through the contraction.

Keith smiled down sadly at his daughter and patted her on the shoulder. “You have a ways to go.” He said sympathetically.

“Don’t remind me. This is worse than that time mom made me go to those tea parties with her when I was ten. This is utter torture.” Veronica groaned.

Keith laughed, “those dresses she stuffed you into… she thought you’d be the pink loving tea party going girl. You never really like that stuff, you always like figuring things out, finding the truth. More of a daddy’s girl if anything.” He mused.

“Good thing we’re having a boy so you don’t have to take him to tea parties.” Logan added smirking at the thought of a young Veronica in a pink taffeta dress sipping on tea with her pinky in the air and eating cucumber sandwiches.

Veronica glared at him and then gestured to the ice chips. “Can you get more? And some more water? I’m thirsty.” She pouted.

Logan nodded and kissed her on the lips before leaving the room. Once he was gone Keith took Veronica’s hand and smiled down at her.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She frowned, “I hurt all over and I’m scared shitless. Logan’s been great…it’s just been a long day going into a long night.”

“I’m sorry honey, if there was anything I could do I’d do it.”

She smiled wistfully and swung their clasped hands. “You sound like Logan.”

“He’s a smart kid.” Keith admitted begrudgingly.

Veronica nodded, “so any last minute advice?”

“Just breathe, Veronica.” He said kissing her on the forehead. 

“Did I tell you what we were naming the baby?” she asked feeling bashful all of a sudden.

“What?” 

“Marsden Keith Echolls.” She revealed.

Keith grinned feeling instant tears come to his eyes at the thought of them naming their kid after him.

“You know I was scared and angry when you told me about having a baby at sixteen.” He said after he was sure he wouldn’t sound so choked up. “And I’m still angry, but… You’ll get through it and parenthood…you and Logan will be good parents. Just love the kid and if you need anything I’ll always be here.” 

She gave him a watery smile and he let go of her hand. 

“I love you, dad.” She said quietly.

“Love you too, honey. Now let me go find your wayward boyfriend. Then I’ll stay for a little while. I brought the South Park movie.” He said wiggling the DVD in front of her face.

She smiled and took it from him as Keith left to go find Logan. Keith found him a little ways down the hall leaning against the wall and looking pale. The bucket for ice chips was empty and so was the water bottle he had in his hand indicating that he hadn’t gotten a chance to get water or ice.

“You ok, son?” Keith asked coming up to him.

Logan looked up and gave him a shaky smile. “Just…having a meltdown.” He admitted leaning his head back against the wall.

“You know, when Veronica was born I did the same thing. I had to step out for a minute. A million different scenarios went through my head about how I was going to be a terrible father, and how I’d never be able to do it. It’s human nature to worry about being a parent, Logan.” Keith said looking at the teenager in front of him.

“It’s just now hitting me that we’re actually doing this, like really doing this. I keep thinking of all those years with Aaron…” Logan admitted feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable.

“You’re nothing like Aaron, Logan.”

“But what if I become him? What if I’m a terrible father? How do I even be a good one?” Logan asked bewildered.

Keith smiled slightly, “You know what a terrible father is Logan, you know what not to do. That’s enough. Listen, I wasn’t happy when Veronica told me she was pregnant, that’s my little girl, but like I’ve told you before I’m glad it’s you. I know you’ll take good care of her and Marsden.” He said clasping his shoulder and giving him a meaningful look. 

“And if you need any help just know that I’m here to help. You two will be good parents. You already know what you don’t want to be and that’s a good place to start.” Keith said gently taking the ice chips and the water bottle from Logan.

“Now go in there and keep Veronica calm, she’s not going to be for long.” Keith warned and Logan smirked knowing he was right.  
The two men went their separate ways knowing that the night was going to be lengthy and painful to get through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They watched the South Park movie, played some cards, and Veronica even took a little nap. It wasn’t until 4 in the morning that the doctor finally announced that she was ten centimeters dilated and it was time to push. 

On June 16, 2004 Marsden Keith Echolls was born weighing 6 pounds and 7 ounces.


	50. The Epilogue

Chapter 50 The Epilogue

Logan stared down at the little bundle of baby wrapped in blue blankets in complete amazement. He couldn’t feel his cheeks anymore, they hurt so badly from smiling so much. 

It had only been a few hours since they had welcomed Marsden into this world and yet neither of them could look away from the baby. Watching Veronica give birth to their son was the most mesmerizing thing he had ever seen in his life. His hand still ached from her squeezing it, but it was well worth it in the end when he heard his son begin to cry for the first time. He wasn’t even aware tears were rolling down his face until Veronica wiped them away. She had kissed him lovingly and he could feel her own hot tears on his skin. They only broke away when the doctor asked if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord, he did so with careful movements unable to fully comprehend that he was now a dad. 

He had a son. He was a father, how surreal was that?   
What was even more amazing was the fact that Veronica and he had made the baby together. That really got him and made the tears start to flow even more.

“I can’t believe we have a son.” Logan said in awe watching as the baby yawned and stared up at him with his own big brown eyes.

“Yeah…do you want to count his fingers and toes again?” she asked beaming at him.

Logan grinned and they counted the little digits finding that once again there were ten fingers and ten toes. It was amazing to see how similar the baby looked to himself with big brown eyes, his nose, and his cheeks. The small amount of hair on his head was blonde and already Logan could see the inquisitive nature in his son’s eyes that always drove Veronica to seek the truth.

“He looks just like you.” she mused looking between him and their baby. They had already gone over, which feature came from whom, but they couldn’t resist doing it a second or a third time. They had waited for his arrival for nine months after all and now that he was finally here, the two new parents felt complete wonder at the life they created together.

“Thankfully he got your ears though.” Logan whispered kissing her on the forehead and tightening his arm around her. He gently touched his son’s hand and watched his fingers curl around one finger, barely big enough to wrap all the way around. Logan felt his heart swell and he knew that from this moment on he would always protect his son. He would never be like Aaron and finally all of the things Veronica and Keith had said to him clicked. He wouldn’t ever hurt his son he couldn’t even image doing so. Now, that he was a father all he wanted to do was protect him. He already loved his son more than anything in the world and he knew he’d do anything for him. It was the same with Veronica. He couldn’t imagine his life without the two of them.

“I like your ears.” She said glancing over at him and then turning her attention back to the baby. She didn’t want to look away from him for too long, she was already worried that he could get into trouble. He was the product of her and Logan after all and they seemed to attract trouble where ever they went.

“I love you.” he said kissing her softly.

She grinned and laid her head on his shoulder enjoying the quiet moment she got with her two men. “I love you too.”

They continued to watch the baby hypnotized with him, their hearts swelling with love every time he moved or blinked. 

“You know it’s weird, I feel so anxious for him already, but it’s so calming holding him. It’s like I know everything is going to be ok now.” She mused.

Logan nodded, “I know exactly what you mean.”

Marsden’s brow wrinkled and his brown eyes screwed up before he let out a large wail shocking the new parents back to reality. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Logan asked feeling panicked at the sudden mood change.

“He’s hungry.” A nurse said coming into the room and smiling at them. “My name is Lexi. I heard you guys just had a baby! Congratulations! Would you like me to feed him so you can get some rest? Most parents take the opportunity to put the baby in the nursery.” she chirped.

Logan and Veronica shared a look and Veronica shook her head giving her the same response that she’d given the other nurses. “No thanks.”

“Are you breastfeeding?” Lexi asked.

“Um no.” Veronica said watching Lexi’s face drop.

“Oh. Well. Let me go grab a bottle and some formula. I’ll tell the breast feeding specialist know you aren’t interested. He’ll be disappointed we encourage all new moms to breast feed you know.” Lexi said giving them a strained smile and then leaving. 

Veronica looked over at Logan who had taken the baby from her and was walking around the room trying to calm him down, but Marsden continued to cry louder. 

“Boy, does he have a set of lungs! I heard my grandbaby all the way down the hall!” Lynn said coming into the room and grinning at the new parents. She set the flowers she’d brought down on the table along with a bag Logan had asked her to grab.

“I want to hold him.” Lynn demanded stretching her arms out and wiggling her fingers.

“Ok, but use Purell first.” Veronica asked nodding to Logan to hand over the baby.

Lynn squirted some Purell into her hands and then took the baby from Logan.

“Don’t forget to support his head.” Logan said handing him over. Marsden continued to cry, but either Lynn didn’t notice or she didn’t care. She began to rock gently staring down at his screaming red face.

“He’s adorable. He looks just like Logan when he was born.” Lynn said loudly over the cries of the baby.

The nurse came back in and handed Lynn the bottle before shooting Logan and Veronica a weird look.

“You know breastfeeding is healthier for the baby.” Lexi said and Veronica sensed that she was about to go into a long rant about how she should reconsider breastfeeding the baby.

“We already have bottles at home.” Veronica said trying to glare menacingly at the nurse, but it was hard to do when her body ached all over, the baby was crying, and she felt like she’d landed on a stick of dynamite.

“Return them. Breastfeeding saves money and you should at least do it for six weeks for all the vitamins.” The nurse said giving her a sugary smile before leaving.

“Ignore her. I didn’t breastfeed Logan and he turned out fine.” Lynn said sticking the bottle in the baby’s mouth. He immediately began to guzzle down the formula and Lynn cooed at him. Logan looked over at Veronica and grinned at her both enjoying the family moment of three different generations.

“Oh you have your father’s eyes! Just like Logan.” Lynn cooed in a baby voice.

The baby gurgled and some formula bubbles appeared making Lynn smile. She was too busy with the baby to notice the dark expression that crossed Logan’s face and the cringe Veronica made. Both of their thoughts going to the same location of Aaron and the bad things he had done. Now that Logan was a father he had no idea how Aaron could’ve hurt his own flesh and blood, the thought made him hate him even more.

Once the bottle was empty Lynn handed the baby to Logan so he could burb him. She began to tell them about how there were so many flowers and congratulations balloons at the house. 

“People have been dropping them off all morning. Now do either of you want something to eat? Veronica you look exhausted do you want to sleep? We can put the baby in the nursery and Logan and I can run to In and Out Burger and grab you something.” Lynn suggested.

Before Veronica could respond Logan spoke up. “Actually Veronica and I want to keep him with us and Keith is coming by with food already in a little while. You can join us if you want.” Logan said.

Lynn nodded, “sure. I’ll go grab a salad from the cafeteria. Are you sure you don’t want to put him in the nursery? You two are going to be so tired.”

Veronica shook her head, “I had a friend who was switched a birth. He’s staying with us.”

Lynn opened her mouth to respond, but Logan shot her a look and she sighed instead. “Ok, I’ll be back soon.” She said leaving.

Once she was gone Logan handed the baby over to Veronica who grinned down at Marsden.

“He’s so tiny and cute. He’s going to be such a lady’s man.” Veronica murmured.

“Well I am his father.” Logan teased grinning at her.

Veronica rolled her eyes playfully and sat back into the pillows letting out a yawn.

“How about I take him so you can nap?” he suggested.

“You just want to give him tips of how to get girls while I sleep.” She said her eyes already drooping.

He chuckled and took the baby from her gently watching as she quickly fell asleep. He kissed her on the forehead and made sure she was snuggled into the hospital bed. He sat down in the uncomfortable hospital chair and looked down at the baby.

“I promise I’ll be nothing like Aaron and even if you inherited the infamous Echolls soulful brown eyes you will be your own person. Aaron will never darken our lives   
again, I promise you.” he said leaning down and kissing his fuzzy head.

“I can’t wait to teach you to surf, to read, and to be as witty as your mother and I. You’re going to be smart like your mom and after watching you gulp that bottle down you’ll have your mother’s appetite, I bet. I can teach you to be a lady’s man, but you should treat women with respect and you can ask me any advice you need   
to. I will always be here for you. I love you.” he said quietly glancing over at Veronica who was fast asleep.

“And I love your mom a lot too. Maybe somewhere down the line we’ll get married and give you some siblings, but not for awhile.” He added. “I’ll let you do all the things I never got to and I’ll be there for all the things you want to do, like baseball or soccer or whatever. Even if you end up acting I’ll still support you. I promise.” he whispered watching the baby look up at him with his own eyes.

A little while later Keith came by with their food and Lynn came back with her salad. The little family ate while Veronica snored on and they saved her some food. Keith held his grandson for the first time and Logan watched the unshed tears in his eyes finally understanding how hard Keith fought to keep his daughter safe. Logan completely understood the overly protective attitude.

It was well into the afternoon before Veronica had woken up. Their friends had stopped by, but Logan told them to go home since Veronica was still sleeping. He invited them to come visit at the house when they got home the next day. When Veronica woke up she ate the cold food and was forced to walk around the hospital floor so she didn’t get too stiff staying in bed. When she got back to the room she complained to Logan that she wanted her share of time with Marsden after he got to spend his entire day bonding with him.

“Did you teach him to be witty yet?” she teased holding the baby close to her.

“Not yet. That lesson’s Tuesday.” He said leaning laying beside her on the bed.

“So I have a gift for you.” he added reaching into his pocket and pulling out a black box.

“More jewelry Logan? I’m going to look like a Tiffany’s commercial soon.” She said grinning at him. 

He took the baby from her and she opened the box. She beamed at him when she saw the little pendent.

“It’s for your necklace.” He added.

She nodded feeling her throat constrict with emotion for the man in front of her. “I love it, thank you.” she said taking it out of the box.

It was a little rectangular tag that had the words ‘Marsden Keith Echolls 6/16/04’ written on it with the June birthstone. She took off the necklace he’d found in the   
pool house for her in December and put the new charm on it marveling at how full it was getting.

“I know it’s not much. I asked my mom to bring it since I didn’t have it on me. I was going to get you something else, but I didn’t have enough time.” he admitted sheepishly.

She grinned and cuddled closer to him. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” 

They shared a kiss and then went back to watching the little life they had created both feeling content.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two Months Later

Veronica was warming up the formula for Marsden in the microwave wishing it would hurry up. Everyone was outside on the patio waiting for her so they could cut the cake for her birthday. She couldn’t believe that she was seventeen with a two month old baby on her hip. She would laugh at the irony if she wasn’t so dead tired.  
Getting used to taking care of Marsden wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was her lack of freedom and how scary it was taking care of a baby. It was hard having to wake up and feed him in the middle of the night, or when he cried to the point where her ears bled, but he was Logan’s and her flesh and blood and they loved him with all their hearts. 

Logan had been really great so far with taking care of Marsden. He seemed to sense when Veronica’s nerves were about to snap and he’d take over from there. Veronica was just glad that she still had two weeks until school started since she had yet to figure out how she was going to juggle school and taking care of a baby, plus her cases. She was nervous, but she had Logan and she wouldn’t trade her life for anything even if it was very difficult at the moment.

“Veronica! Are you ready?” Keith asked coming into the kitchen and bouncing the crying baby.

“Almost.” She said staring at the numbers and willing it to hurry up.

“I can’t believe you’re already seventeen. I remember when you were this age.” He said holding up the two month old and making a funny face down at him.

Veronica smiled softly and breathed a sigh of relief when the microwave went off. She tested the milk and when she deemed it was ready she took the baby from   
Keith. She stuck the bottle in his mouth and Marsden began to suckle away.

“He has your appetite.” Keith mused chuckling.

Veronica rolled her eyes, “Hardee-Har. Is it time to cut cake?” she asked in excitement.

Keith nodded and she followed him outside to the patio. Lynn had decorated the patio in streamers and a big happy birthday sign that Veronica couldn’t help but grin   
at. Mrs. Navarro had cooked a lavish dinner and cake. Veronica had invited Meg, Mac, Dick, and even Duncan, but Duncan still refused to talk to Logan. She had   
extended the invite to Mrs. Navarro and Weevil, but Mrs. Navarro couldn’t get a babysitter and Weevil never replied. 

It had been a nice evening so far. Everyone had taken turns holding the baby, the food was delicious, and now it was Veronica’s favorite part of a birthday party, the cake. 

When they got onto the patio Logan came over and offered to take the baby, but Veronica didn’t want to move him when he was feeding. If he was anything like her then he hated being interrupted while filling his tummy.

“Alright Veronica.” Lynn said setting the cake down in front of her. Veronica smiled staring down at the chocolate cake with seventeen candles on it. 

“Happy Birthday to you!” everyone began to sing and Veronica laughed at how off key everyone was. 

She looked down at Marsden and cooed to him seeing the early hints of a smile on his lips as he guzzled the formula down.

“Alright make a wish.” Logan said leaning down in her ear.

Veronica closed her eyes and thought of the last year. At her last birthday party it had been at her old house with her mom, Lilly, and Duncan was her boyfriend. Now she had a baby, no mother, and Logan as her boyfriend, but she wouldn’t want it any other way. Please let this year be better than last, she wished and then blew out the candles.

Everyone clapped and cheered. Logan leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips not all the way comfortable with kissing her in front of her dad. As they quieted down and Lynn cut large pieces for everyone Keith’s phone began to ring. He stepped away not noticed by anyone until he came back with a dark look on his face.

Lynn went to hand him a piece of cake, but he shook his head.

“Veronica.” Keith said his voice heavy with remorse.

“Dad? What’s wrong?” she asked handing the baby to Logan and coming over to her father.

Keith sighed and ran a hand across his baldhead.

“I have to go.” He said quietly.

She frowned, “what’s wrong? Is it work?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened? Is everything ok?” she asked worriedly.

He shook his head and glanced over at the other party members who were watching them. He took her by her arm and led her away not wanting anyone to overhear.

“It’s Lamb.” Keith said regretfully.

“What’s wrong with him? Did he lock his keys in his car again?” she joked, but her smile immediately dropped at her dad’s look.

He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s dead, Veronica.” He said gently and Veronica immediately knew that her wish didn’t come true. She never liked Lamb,   
but she certainly wouldn’t want him dead.

“Do you know what happened?” she asked.

Keith shook his head. “That was Sacks on the phone. I have to go. Is that ok?” he asked.

She nodded, “yeah, it’s fine. Just…be careful.” She said reaching out to hug him. He squeezed her tight before giving her a reassuring smile.

“I love you, honey. Have a happy birthday.” He said before going over to the other party members and bidding his goodbyes.

Veronica watched with a heavy heart knowing that whatever was about to come wouldn’t be good. She looked over at Logan and Marsden and gave him a sad smile when she saw him staring at her. Logan smirked and lifted up Marsden’s hand to wave at her. Her smile widened and she knew that whatever happened she’d always have Logan and now Marsden. Hopefully everything would be ok, but this was Neptune and bad things tended to happen here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there will be a sequel it should be out sometime around Christmas.


End file.
